Mama Cat
by Shadystar
Summary: Selina, AKA Cat, becomes a mother and Bruce decides to help her while learning to conquer one of his biggest fears.
1. Chapter 1: Lost and Found

**I keep telling myself I won't post any new long chapter stories until I finish some of my others (especially my first story); but I just love the rush of posting new stories, not to mention there aren't many stories for this series (probably because they just finished the first season). I came up with this midseason right before I started my other Gotham story 'Everybody Hurts' but knew that one wasn't going to be as long so I posted and finished that one first. I try to keep my stories cannon with the shows, but it's harder to do that with a series that is still going on.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gotham, Batman, or anything related to the DC Comics Universe.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are appriciated.**

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 **Mama Cat**

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

Since the incident where her appraiser sold her out to a group of assassins who were out for her blood, Selina Kyle went back to pickpocketing on the streets for cash. She figured it was safer to avoid any unnecessary interaction with anyone who might sell her out for a quick buck; at least while there was a price on her head.

Selina only sold stolen merchandise to pawn to get by when the streets were slow. After the night of the Wayne's death, Gothamites became more cautious about coming out at night. Times were tough for many businesses in Gotham since. Downtown tourism slowed down for awhile and criminal activity temporarily spiked due to the lost revenue resulting in lost jobs. Eventually, business slowly started to pick back up in downtown Gotham after the mayor's newest attempt at increasing revenue in the rapidly declining neighborhood in Gotham; The Cash Cow Casino.

Truth be told, the young thief preferred pickpocketing to pawning. It was less of a hassle and more of an adrenaline rush. After all, Selina got the nickname 'Cat' due to her quick cat-like reflexes and the sly precision she learned from pickpocketing on the streets; in addition to her mini feline obsession.

It was late Friday night, almost midnight, on a street known to locals as 'Debauchery Row'. Cat was staking out the casino's back alley, waiting for drunkards to stumble out of the back exit with their winnings spilling out of their pockets.

Drunks were easy targets for Cat. Most of her targets where single men in their mid to late 20's who usually they got kicked out of bars and casinos for harassing the female staff and patrons alike. Any friends they did have who are still somewhat coherent often denied being associated with them to avoid being kicked out as well.

While they were busy puking their guts out, she would slip the wallets out of their pockets to take their winnings and return said wallet before it was missed. Most of them were so intoxicated that they didn't even remember winning and were lucky enough to find their ways home.

Cat had been waiting in the alley behind The Cash Cow for less than 10 minutes before she saw a possible target. She had been staking out behind the casino on weekends for the past 3 weeks and noticed a pattern: hardly anyone was really kicked out before 11. And the ones that were usually got kicked out because they owed too much to the house and didn't know when to stop gambling, not worth the effort.

Selina hid behind a dumpster in the alley when she heard the door opening. The bouncer was throwing this particular man out for groping several waitresses and admitting to one of them that he had been counting cards. The offender hit his head against the brick wall belonging to the bistro across the alley and landed on the ground on his side.

Selina proceeded with caution as she approached the unconscious man. She used a rigged wire coat hanger she kept wrapped around her belt to fish the wallet out of his pants pockets but found nothing. He must have hid his wallet from the bouncers to keep his winnings. She looked in his coat and found an internal lapel pocket which contained the man's wallet. Once retrieved, Selina opened his wallet to count the contents.

The wallet contained $1,318. She left the $18 and took the rest. She figured it would be less suspicious if there was still a little bit of money left, last thing she needs is for word to spread about the casino alley pickpocket and potentially ruin her whole operation by getting police or worst, other street thieves, involved. She didn't mind occasionally sharing some of her findings with the other street kids, but she rarely gave leads because of how fast word spreads underground.

As Selina tried to put the wallet back into the unconscious man's pocket, she noticed he wasn't moving. Selina Kyle was a lot of things; but, heartless she was not. She slowly inched closer to him to get a closer look.

The unconscious man had a bruised cut to the left of his forehead, a fat lip, and a busted up nose from hitting the wall. She noticed his nose and cheeks were bright red (which she attributed to the booze she smelled on his breath) and the rest of his face that wasn't bruised was pale. Foam was starting to form at the corner of his mouth before he let out a huge cough.

Cat's swift reflexes kicked in and she hid behind a fire escape stairwell in the alley. The man quickly turned over onto his hands and knees to throw up. He slowly crawled his way to the main sidewalk before he heard what he assumed were police sirens down the street that spooked him enough for him to get up and run in the direction away from the sirens.

Shortly after the formerly unconscious man left and the sirens that turned out to be an ambulance on its way to the hospital 3 blocks down passed by, Selina left her hiding spot and started to leave the Alley.

As the sound of the sirens started to die out, Cat heard an odd sound coming from one of the dumpsters. The muffled echo made it difficult to identify the sound. Selina thought it might have been a stray that was trapped in the dumpster while trying to look for warmth. The cat enthusiast opened the lid on the dumpster to rescue the occupant. What she discovered inside would change her life forever.

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 **Meanwhile…**

On the outskirts of Gotham, a young billionaire orphan tossed and turned in his bed; but this wasn't anything new. Since the death of his parents, the young Bruce Wayne spent many restless nights reliving the event over and over again in his head, often in his sleep.

The lad made a promise to himself in memory of his parents that he will find who killed them and make sure they could never hurt anyone else. He spent most of his nights going over evidence trying to find new leads, sometimes to ease his mind about getting closure; but really to avoid the nightmares that replayed that faithful night in Crime Alley.

The boy's butler, Alfred, understood the boy needed sometime to process things, but thought the lad's obsession was getting out of hand. Bruce had always been mature for his age; but now he seemed to be pushing himself away even more from childhood, what was left of Master Bruce's childhood died the same night his parents did. Though he was luckier than most of the children in Gotham without parents, many of whom were living in the streets, he was scarred by witnessing his parent's death and fearing his own life was in danger. The whole event drove Bruce to want to learn everything he can about self-defense, mystery solving, and overcoming his fears.

The butler often insisted that his charge take a break from the detective work, that's when Bruce decided to work on controlling his fears. Lately the young billionaire took to watching horror movies and reading scary stories, though he had to do it on the sly because Alfred didn't approve of the boy desensitizing himself.

On that particular night, he fell asleep in the middle of reading Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. Bruce always had a fear of vampires, but he was even more afraid of bats. They were creatures of the night that stalked their pray and were known for carrying horrible diseases, such as rabies. Bruce saw the creatures as ruthless as the man who killed his parents, picking on prey and draining the life out of them with no mercy. The young heir had nightmares about bats and vampires since sneaking out of his room late one night to watch Nosferatu, who was not only a vampire but looked like a giant human/bat mutant.

But even though he was afraid of bats, part of Bruce was fascinated by them as well. He researched them, thinking that understanding how they work might help him to concur his fears. He found that the flying mammals mostly ate bugs; some species only ate fruits and other plants. Only vampire bats really drank the blood from living animals and rarely (if ever) drank human blood. Though the statistics gave him peace of mind, he still couldn't help but feel anxious when confronted with the creatures of the night.

Tonight Bruce was having the usual nightmare of his parents' death, but this time it was different. He noticed more details of the gunman. At first the scared boy just saw the dark shadow of the man in a heavy coat with a covered face. But after the incognito figure shot his parents, Bruce noticed the gunman wasn't leaving. Instead the shooter stood there, laughing at the crying boy's misery as he kneeled by his parents in a pool of their blood. The laugh started off as a deep throaty chuckle and gradually changed to a higher pitch. Bruce stared at the heartless monster when he noticed a pair of red eyes staring back at him. He then noticed as the pitch of his laugher turned into a sharp squeals, more red eyes appeared in the shadows of the disguise. A colony of bats erupted from the trench coat and began to swarm the frightened boy. As the biggest bat stared Bruce in the face with an evil grin and beady blood red eyes, the bat lunged towards Bruce's neck.

At that moment, Bruce woke up in a cold sweat; hyperventilating in fear as he felt his neck to make sure he wasn't really bitten. Bruce looked at the clock to see it was just after 4 AM, He had only been asleep for a few hours.

At this point, the boy realized he wasn't going to desensitize this fear by just reading about them. If Bruce really wanted to get rid of this fear, he needed to tackle it head on.


	2. Chapter 2: Trespassing

**Hey everyone. Herexs a new chapter. It was starting to get a bit too long for my liking so I cut it in half. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon.**

 **D** **isclaimer: I dont own Gotham, DC comics, blah, blah, blah... ect.**

 **Reviews appriciated. Enjoy.**

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Chapter 2: Trespassing

A few hours later, Bruce woke up and informed his butler that he would be spending the day hiking on the Wayne Estate. Alfred was relieved that his charge decided to spend the day outside like a normal adolescent boy, rather than spending the day cooped up in the study obsessing over old newspaper clips.

Bruce, however, conveniently forgot to mention a particular part of the property he was interested in: the cave. About a mile hike from the manor was a hill next to an opening that lead to an underground cave. Bruce remembers his father telling him about the cave when he was younger, warning the boy to stay away because it was inhabited by bats. Bruce figured it would be less scary to explore it first during the day before trying it at night.

Alfred packed Bruce's lunch and prepped a knapsack while the boy finished his breakfast. The butler also packed a water bottle, an extra sweater, a first aid kit, and map of the property. The guardian instructed his charge to be back by 5:30 so he could wash up before dinner.

Bruce grabbed a spare flashlight from the shed in his backyard and shoved it into the backpack before he followed the hiking path to the hill. He walked at slow pace. While a part of him wanted to do this, another part of him was terrified that he was making a terrible mistake.

A little less than a half hour from leaving home, Bruce passed the hill and found the cave entrance. The boy grabbed his flashlight and timidly examined the opening of the cave as he entered it. He was particularly cautious about examining the ceiling, as everyone knows bats roost upside down from high places. Bruce was relieved at first when he saw the bares stalactites hanging from the ceiling, though he was still close to the entrance and knew he wouldn't see any sign of bats until there was no trace of sunlight.

Bruce strolled further along, trying to control each breath to remain calm. His heart skipped a beat when his flashlight finally landed on a bat. The boy rolled his flashlight over and saw the colony of hundreds more, filling up the top of the cave as far as the eye can see. He held his breath out of fear that the slightest noise would startle the bats and provoke them. He slowly stepped forward reminding himself in thought that they are most likely more afraid of him then he is of them.

While focusing on the flying mammals above, Bruce heard low growl resonating through the cave. He looked forward and saw one large glowing pair of eyes staring back. The young billionaire reluctantly moved his flashlight and saw what appeared to be a mother bobcat with her young resting hiding behind her. Bruce focused most of his recent research lately on bats, he didn't think to research what to do when encountering other wild animals. What he did know was that like most animals, they were very protective of their young.

The boy slowly backed away, never leaving the feline's gaze. After a few steps, he noticed the wildcat was approaching him before it began to crouch into a pre-pounce position. Bruce then turned around and ran until out of the cave. The bobcat leapt forward and chased after Bruce until he was out of the cave before returning to her den.

Bruce kept running until he began to feel faint. He stopped running after he finally looked back and realized the wildcat had stopped chasing him. The young billionaire tried to catch his breath for a moment before pushing himself to move on. Bruce wasn't quite sure where he was now since he ran in the opposite direction from where he entered the cave. He was walking around in circles for a while before he found an old cottage. He recognized it as one of several guest houses that were originally built as servants' quarters, but it mostly used for his parents' bigger galas where their friends from out of town would stay when the guest rooms in the manor were full. It hasn't been used much since the incident.

Bruce looked at his watch and realized he had been wandering around for over 2 hours since leaving the cave. He figured he could use the cabin to clean up for lunch and rest while he tried to refigure how to get back to the manor. Bruce walked up to the door and got one of the spare keys that was hidden under a rock. He left his supplies by the door as he headed for the restroom.

Shorty after, the boy returned to the entry way to retrieve his knapsack. He had this feeling of unease come over him. He couldn't help but feel as if he were being watched. He ignored it as he searched for the kitchen. The boy placed his bag on a stool by the counter as he rummaged through it for his lunch. Less than a minute later he was pinned face first to the ground.

"You have 30 seconds to leave, before I call the cops on you for trespassing." The voice of his attacker threatened in a low but eerily calm voice in his ear while covering Bruce's mouth with their hand.

"What?!" Bruce muffled in replied before he managed to free his mouth. "I'm not trespassing. This house is on my family's property."

The attacker instantly backed off.

"Bruce?" She asked as she stood up.

"Selina, what is going on?" The young billionaire asked as his attacker helped him up.

"I remember seeing this place when we were on the run from the assassins and I needed a place to crash." The girl replied.

"Last time I saw you, you were in the city." Bruce stated. "How did you get here?"

"I took a cab." She shrugged.

"How long have you been here?" He asked.

"Just got here last night." Cat replied. "What's with all the questions? Are you writing a book or something?"

"Well, sorry if I think I deserve an explanation as to why you're in the guest house without permission and why you tackled me." He raise his voice.

"Shhh… Look, I'm sorry I didn't ask first and I'm sorry I tackled you." The trespasser whispered the apology. "I thought you were an intruder. But I need you to stay calm and keep your voice down."

"After everything you've put me through lately; you want me to calm down?" Bruce couldn't help but raise his voice.

"Shhh… You'll wake him." Selina warned.

"Oh, I see." Bruce said in a disappointed voice. "You brought a guy here. Well, that's just great. Who is he? One of the street kids? Your boyfriend?"

"It's not like that." She retorted. "I need to check on him. I'll explain everything in a minute, just don't go anywhere and promise me you won't tell anyone."

"I'm not going to lie to Alfred to cover up for you, Selina." The young man protested.

"It's not lying, just… withholding the truth." Cat said as she left the kitchen. "I'll be right back. Promise."

Bruce had just started to get over Cat's betrayal. For some reason, no matter how much her lies hurt him and no matter how many shady things she's done, Bruce always had a soft spot when it came to Selina.

But to Bruce this seemed like the icing on the cake. Did she really just break into the guest house to be with some guy? Bruce has tried several times to reach out to Selina, he offered to let her stay in the mansion, but she always refused. She said the streets of Gotham was her home, that she wasn't the domestic type. Apparently she'll settle down for the right guy.

Bruce just went back to retrieving his lunch. Today was definitely not going as planned. First he was chased off a personal mission by a Bobcat, then he got lost for a couple of hours, and now the girl that broke his heart was shacking up with some guy in his family's guest house.

"I hope your happy!" Selina shouted from down the hall as she walked towards the kitchen. "He's been up all night and now he can't go back to sleep."

"Well, you shouldn't be inviting friends to other people's property." Bruce said over his shoulder as he opened up his lunch bag.

"I didn't have a choice." She said finally reaching the kitchen. "Now you're going to have to help me get him back to sleep."

"You must be joking." Bruce stated, fed up with this situation. "There is no way I'm going to-" Bruce froze when he turned around and saw a baby in Selina's arms.


	3. Chapter 3: Promise

**Thanks for the reviews. Sorry this chapter is mostly dialogue (the next chaper may be too), and a little shorter than the last two but I thought that was a perfect spot to stop before the next scene I have in mind. I've been behind on my other stories and was in a rush to update something but I fixed most of the errors in the last chapter and I've been doing most of my writing on my phone and tablet so sometimes the autocorrect changes it. Plus, I'm always going back and fixing stories even months later; one of my OCD tendencies. So I usually wind up fixing it eventually anyway, feel free to let me know if there are any errors I didn't catch here.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters.**

 **Hopefully you enjoy it.**

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Chapter 3: Promise

"Um… Selina, where did that baby come from?" The confused boy asked.

"Really, Bruce, I thought if your parents never got a chance to tell you about where babies came from that Alfred would have told you by now." Selina joked.

"I know where babies come from." Bruce blushed. "What I meant was: whose baby is that?"

"He's mine." Selina stated.

"You're only 14!" Bruce shouted as the baby started to cry in response.

"Calm down, you're scaring him." Cat hissed at Bruce.

"I just saw you a few months ago and you were definitely not… with child." Bruce lowered his voice, refusing to think of her as ever being pregnant. "Who did this? Who's the father?"

"I don't know." Selina replied, still focusing on calming down the fussing infant.

"Selina, did someone…?" Bruce began to ask, unable to think of a euphemism for something so vile.

"Don't hurt yourself jumping to conclusions there." Selina said. "He's mine now, but that doesn't mean I gave birth to him."

A part of Bruce was relieved that someone hadn't taken advantage of her. But he did know how gray Selina's ethics could be at times.

"Please tell me you didn't take him from the hospital or from a mother pushing a stroller on the street?" Bruce pleaded.

"If you must know, I found him in a dumpster behind The Cash Cow Casino." Cat said while trying to cover the babies ears. "His mother literally threw him away!" Selina couldn't help but raise her voice in disgust while fighting tears.

"Why would his mother throw him away?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know." Cat sighed. "Maybe she was a drunk or on drugs. Or maybe she just decided she didn't want him anymore."

The baby started to fuss more in Selina's arms. She pulled up a chair at the kitchen table and Bruce sat down beside her.

"I told you he was going to be fussy." Selina announced. "I spent all night trying to get him to sleep, he was only down for a half hour before you showed up."

"Is he hurt… or sick?" Bruce asked.

"I don't think so." Selina tried cradling the baby while swaying him side to side. "I don't know how long he was in that dumpster for; but he seems fine. He's not warm or drippy and I didn't see any cuts or rashes on him."

"Maybe he needs to be changed?" The boy suggested.

"I changed him before I put him down." The caregiver informed as she continued to sooth the baby by holding him closer to her chest before she felt a tight pinch. "Ahhhggg…!"

"Or he's hungry." Bruce deduced.

"You think?" Selina said as calmly as she could manage trying to pry the biting baby off of her chest.

Cat stood up and handed the baby over to Bruce and headed over to the fridge to pull out a bottle. She put the bottle in a bowl in the sink while running hot water from the faucet.

"You know we have to report it to the police." The boy insisted as the baby continued to fuss.

"No." Cat objected.

"Selina, child abandonment is a crime." Bruce informed her. "They need to find who did this and-"

"And what?" The street kid interrupted. "Put him in the system and have him bounce around from foster family to foster family until he ages out and winds up on the street?"

"I'm sure they'll find a good forever home for him." The young billionaire assured. "Everyone wants to adopt babies."

"Look around, Bruce." Selina said. "Gotham isn't exactly crawling around with Bradys. Some of the adults around here don't take care of the kids that are actually theirs."

"He needs a family." Bruce said. "Babies need someone to nurture them and tend to their needs. They need a mother and father."

"I can be his mother." Selina volunteered.

"You can't be serious." Bruce retorted. "This is a huge responsibility."

"What, you don't think I'd be a good mom?" Cat bitterly responded.

"It's not that." The boy carefully replied. "I'm just saying that children need a lot of things: food, clothes, educational toys… A home."

"I'll get a job and an apartment." She replied.

"What about preschool and college?" He added.

"They have preschools for low income families." She countered. "And college isn't for another 18 years."

"I meant college for you." Bruce corrected. "It'll be hard enough to get a decent job at our age, not to mention juggling school and child care at the same time."

"Who are you fooling, Kid?" She asked. "Even the baby knows that I ain't college material."

"How else will you be able to care for him?" The young heir asked. "Most decent jobs require a college degree and you haven't even finished high school. You can't even get a minimum wage job at 14."

"I know some girls who work at the South Pole, they've told me before they can probably get me a job there if I ever needed one." Selina informed .

"That's not funny." The boy said sternly. "Everyone knows that's the sleaziest strip club Gotham."

"I'm serious, they said the owner is always looking for new talent and he doesn't card the dancers." She announce.

"I refuse to let you degrade yourself, not to mention break the law." The young billionaire announced.

"News flash, Bruce: I'm not exactly citizen of the year." She pointed out. "How do you think I was able to afford diapers and formula?"

"You stole them?!" Bruce scolded.

"Of course not." She replied. "Stores have security cameras. I pick pocketed some boozer in the alley behind the casino where I found the baby. That's how I was able to afford the cab, too."

"Well, that's so much better." Bruce replied sarcastically.

"Look, don't judge me." Selina said as she took the baby from Bruce and sat back down to feed him his bottle. "You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. You don't know what it's like to have to survive on the streets. People without trust funds do what they got to do to get by."

Bruce sighed. He could tell Cat was determined to keep this baby at any cost. Despite all that she's done, Bruce knew that there was a caring person within her; no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"Alright, I won't tell anyone about this." Bruce finally promised. "But only if you let me help you and promise me that you will go to college."

"It's too late for me, I dropped out of school after my mom dissappeared." Cat countered. "Besides, I can't go back now that I have to take care of him."

"Maybe you dont have to do traditional schooling; when you're old enough you can take the high school equivalency test." Bruce suggested. "I can tutor you. And by the time you're ready to go to college, the baby will be old enough for preschool."

"I don't need your charity." She retorted. "I can raise him just fine on my own."

"I'm not saying you won't." The young billionaire corrected. "I just want to make sure he has every opportunity possible available to him."

"Why do you care about him all of a sudden?" She inquired.

"Because I know he's important to you." Bruce said. "Besides, every child deserves a family."


	4. Chapter 4: The Name Game (Little Bird)

**Thanks again for the reviews. The bad news is that unfortunately this is another short chapter but it was the only way I can think of to end this chapter before the next one I have in mind. The good news is that the baby finally gets a name.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't Own Gorham, DC comics or any songs mentioned.**

 **Enjoy.**

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Chapter 4: The Name Game (Little Bird)

After Selina finished feeding the baby, she carried him back to one of the bedrooms and Bruce followed. Bruce saw the room had a bed and dresser, but no crib. The only baby furniture was a Moses basket. He also saw a few packs of diapers, wipes, formula, and bottles in the corner of the room. He also noticed there wasn't any spare clothes or toys in the room.

Selina continued to sooth the baby, trying to get him to fall asleep. She tried rocking and singing to the baby. But he was fighting the urge to sleep. A half hour later he was still awake and Cat was running out of patience.

"You sang that song already." Bruce reminded her.

"I only know a few lullabies." Selina countered in an irritated tone. "It's not my fault he doesn't respond to them."

"Do you mind if I try a song?" The young billionaire asked.

"You going to sing an opera?" The street kid teased the heir.

"Actually, I wanted to try a song my mother used to sing to me when I was little." He countered. "It used to put me to sleep all the time."

"Be my guest." She agreed.

Bruce cleared his throat before he began as Selina continued swaying the fussy infant.

"Little bird, liittle bird, fly through my window." He started singing softly.

"Little bird, little bird, fly through my window/ Little bird, little bird fly through my window/ Find molasses candy/ Through my window, my sugar lump/ Fly through my window, my sugar lump/ Find molasses candy."

The baby started cooing softer than before as Bruce continued to sing.

"Chickadee, chickadee, fly through my window." The boy continued.

"Chickadee, chickadee, fly through my window/ Chickadee, chickadee, fly through my window/ Find molasses candy/ Through my window, my sugar lump/ Fly through my window, my sugar lump/ Find molasses candy."

"Is it just the same lines over and over again with different birds?" Cat whispered.

"Pretty much." Bruce replied.

The baby started fussing when the lullaby stopped.

"What's next?" Selina asked.

"Jaybird." Bruce informed her before continuing. "Jaybird, jaybird, Fly through my window."

Selina joined in.

"Jaybird, jaybird, fly through my window/ Jaybird, jaybird, fly through my window/ And find molasses candy/ Through my window, my sugar lump/ Fly through my window, my sugar lump/ And find molasses candy."

The baby's eyelids started to droop and Selina gently placed the baby in the basket.

"Whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, Fly through my window." Bruce leaded in a whispered tone before Selina joined in.

"'Whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, fly through my window/ Whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, fly through my window/ And find molasses candy/ Through my window, my sugar lump/ Fly through my window, my sugar lump/ And find molasses candy."

The two teens slowly backed out of the room and quietly closed the door behind them to let the baby rest as they walked back to the common area.

"Finally, I hope he'll sleep for a few hours." Selina said as she sat on the couch.

"Hopefully." Bruce agreed, sitting right next to her. "I couldn't help but notice that there wasn't a crib or any extra clothes or toys in the room."

"Well, excuse me, if the baby store wasn't open at midnight." Cat countered. I got what I could find at a convenience store and he was in the basket when I found him."

"Wait, why would his mother go through the trouble of putting him in a basket if she was just throwing him away?" The heir asked.

"I don't know, maybe she had some remores." She reponded bitterly. "He looks a few months old, he probably even had a name before she decided she didn't want to be mom anymore."

"By the way, have you given any thought to what you want to name him?"The boy asked. "You are sure it's a _him_ , right?"

"Yes, Bruce, I'm sure." Cat said. "And I don't know, yet. I was thinking something cool to go with the last name Kyle, like Travis or Tyler. But I don't want anything too popular or trendy."

"What about naming him after you're father?" Bruce asked.

"I never met him, never asked about him." Selina said. "You got any other ideas?"

"Well, traditionally speaking, the first son is usually named after the father or-." Bruce said.

"Nice try, Bruce." Selina interrupted. "I'm not into the whole Junior thing, so 'Bruce Jr' is out of the question."

"Actually, I was wondering if since I'm willing to help you with him and basically be a father figure to him, if you'd be willing to name him after my parents." Bruce suggested. "I've thought about it a lot lately and I wanted to name my first child in memory of them."

"So you want to name him Thomas Martha or Martha Thomas?" Cat questioned. "Wouldn't other kids pick on him if he had a girl's name?"

"Actually, the male version of Martha would be Martin." He corrected. "So it would be Thomas Martin... or Martin Thomas."

"I guess Tom or Tommy wouldn't be so bad." Selina considered. "And Thomas Martin Kyle has a ring to it."

"So is that a yes?" Bruce asked.

"I guess." Selina agreed. "But for the record, we're not naming the next one after Alfred."

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 **If you're wondering, the Lullaby they sang was "Little Bird, Little Bird" By Elizabeth Mitchell. I used to sing it to a a baby I used to babysit.**


	5. Chapter 5: Hand Me Downs

**Hey everyone, Thanks for the reviews. Yeah, I thought about that when writing it. I didn't like the fact that they gave Bruce's bully pretty much has the same name as Bruce's father and I know he wouldn't want to inadvertently name the baby after his bully, so even though I think Tommy sounds better on a baby, he'll just go by Tom. And sorry for the lack of updates, just a lot on my mind lately. But the good news is I'm updating two chapters at once and with enough motivation maybe I can have another chapter up by tomorrow. Enjoy.**

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Chapter 5: Hand Me Downs

A few hours later Bruce went back home. During dinner he was trying to think of how to help Selina and the baby now known as Tom.

"So did you enjoy your walk, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, Alfred." Bruce responded. "It was… refreshing. How was your day?"

"Well, I was relieved that I was finally able to do some cleaning in the study." Alfred admitted. "It's gotten quiet dusty since the last time I was able to clean it."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm probably going to be spending more time out of the house." The heir announced.

"Indeed, it certainly does." The butler smiled, glad the boy was no longer going to be moping around the manor all day.

"Alfred, I've been wondering: you know my old nursery in the alcove of my parents' bedroom?" The boy asked.

"Yes, I remember." The older man replied.

"Do you know why they kept everything in tact even after I moved into my own room?" Bruce asked. "Especially since they never had anymore children."

"Well, there was a time that they were expecting again." Alfred informed his charge. "It was back when you were only a tot, shortly after you got your own room. But there were… complications and they lost the baby."

"So after that they decided not to have anymore children?" The heir inquired.

"On the contrary, they tried for years." The legal guardian corrected. "They both dreamed of a big family, especially your mother. They hoped a little sibling would also help you to come out of your shell."

"Why didn't they try medical treatments?" The boy asked. "I know they can be expensive, but I wouldn't think that would be an issue for them."

"They tried everything, but unfortunately, there are somethings even money can't do." The butler informed the young billionaire. "They finally accepted the fact that another biological child wasn't in the cards for them and were starting the process of adoption. They were going to talk to you about it the next morning after the show."

A cold chill rose to Bruce's spine when the images of that night started to flash through his mind. Mourning both the complete family his parents had dreamed of and the smaller family that was that will never be whole again.

"I see." Was all the boy could manage to utter.

"Why the sudden interest?" His guardian asked.

"I was just thinking about all the underprivileged families there are, who can't afford cribs and other necessities for their children." Bruce explained. "I was thinking about donating it to someone in need. But now I'm not sure if they would have approved."

"Well, to be honest, after the incident I assumed you would have just wanted to save everything and pass it along to your own children, as a family heirloom of sorts." Alfred stated. "But, I suppose if it's for a good cause, your parents would understand."

"Alfred, may I be excused?" Bruce requested after finishing his last bite. "The walk really wore me out."

"Of course, Master Bruce." The butler excused. "Goodnight."

"Thank you for dinner." Bruce thanked his guardian as he walked upstairs to his room.

Bruce sat in bed pondering about the day's events: Did he do the right thing by agreeing to raise a baby with Selina? Would his parents approve? How could a mother throw her baby away? Why didn't she just take him to the orphanage? Should he notify Child Protective Services? Should he call Detective Gordon? Why was Selina so adamant about keeping him?

Bruce got a headache trying to wrap his head around everything and had to eventually forced himself to sleep.

The next morning, Bruce informed his butler that he decided to donate the crib and other baby supplies to an underprivileged family. A part of Alfred was slightly upset that the boy didn't choose to keep these as a family heirloom, especially since Bruce had been sentimental with other family belongings after the incident. But, he knew that the boy's heart was in the right place.

The butler called a moving company to pick up the crib, changing table, clothes, baby toys and other miscellaneous infant furniture that was stored in the basement to take them to the local donation center. While Alfred was showing the movers where everything was, Bruce talked to the driver and gave him instruction and directions to the guest house, along with a $50 tip to not say a word about it to Alfred.

After the truck left, Bruce asked Alfred to pack him a large lunch and set out for another hike. By the time Bruce got to the cottage, the furniture was resting on the stoop and the movers were gone. The boy made sure the movers didn't knock on the door, in case the baby was sleeping. Bruce used the spare key to let himself in and brought in the boxes and stroller to the living room.

Selina walked out as Bruce placed the last box on the floor in the living room.

"What's all this?" She asked as she held the baby in her arms.

"Oh, hi, Selina." Bruce greeted. "Well, yesterday I noticed there were somethings you needed for Tom and my parents still held on to a lot of my old baby stuff. Everything is still in good shape."

"How did you get all this pass Alfred?" Cat inquired as she walked over to the couch and sat down.

"We called a moving truck." Bruce stated as he decided to take a break and sit on the recliner. "Don't worry, he thinks it's going to an anonymous family. Alright, so these three boxes over here have toys, those 2 boxes have baby books, and there's about 8 boxes of clothes and shoes to get him through the first year. I might need some help bringing the furniture in."

"Why are you doing this?" Selina questioned.

"Babies need a lot of things and all of this stuff was just going to collect dust otherwise." Bruce stated.

"No, I mean why do you even care?" She restated. "I never asked for your help. When I found hi,m I just figured I'd raise him myself. You don't need to do any of this."

"Ever since my parents died, all I've wanted is to have a family again." Bruce announced. "I'll never have parents again. And I've never told anyone this, but a part of me is afraid that once I'm legally an adult and Alfred is no longer bound to be my legal guardian that he'll want to retire and leave. Then I'd be all alone."

"Then you'll be old enough to get married and start your own family." Cat responded. "Trust me, there's lots of girls that'll want to reel themselves in a billionaire."

"I know." He responded with a half hearted smile. "And that's the problem, every girl I have ever met, and will ever meet, will only see me Bruce Wayne: heir to the multi-billion Wayne Enterprises' fortune."

"Then marry a rich girl." She suggested.

"They're just as bad, if not worse." He answered. "Most of them are already spoiled and just want someone who can afford their expensive tastes."

"You can always wear a disguise and make up a fake persona." The teen girl suggested. "Then when you know you can trust her you reveal your true self."

"That's dishonest." The boy replied. "I can't start a relationship under false pretenses."

"Well, aren't we picky? " Cat retorted.

"I'm not picky." Bruce defended himself. "I just know what I want and expect out if a relationship."

"For someone who's never had a relationship, you sure have high expectations." She rolled her eyes, as she stood up to calm the antsy infant she was holding.

"Not at all." He stated as he stepped closer to her. "In fact, what I want is simple: I want someone who isn't spoiled or stuck up. Someone kind and caring. Someone who is straight forward and who can handle honesty. Someone who is independent and devoted, even if it means their a little stubborn at times. Someone who can comfort me and make me smile but still challenge me physically and mentally. Someone like you."

The smile that slowly grew on Selina's face with every word he said, faded as she dropped her gaze to the ground.

"We should get back to bringing the other stuff in." She said as she walked back to the room to set Tom in his basket before she went out to help Bruce.

"Selina, wait-" He called.

"I am seriously not having this conversation with you, right now." Cat responded over her shoulder from the next room.

Bruce sighed as he walked back out and started moving furniture in before Selina came back out to help him.


	6. Chapter 6: My Sunshine

**So when I started this story I thought it would mostly revolve around Selina and I noticed the last few chapters were kind of Bruce heavy and decided to give some more indepth detail on Selina's perception. It was going to just be a part of the last chapter, but I decided to make it its own (it is a bit shorter than I would like, though). Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Chapter 6: My Sunshine

After sharing his lunch with Selina, Bruce helped her set up a grocery delivery service to the cottage, on the Wayne's tab of course. He stayed for a few hours to help put baby Tom's new things away and left shortly after the groceries were delivered and put away to be back at the manor before dinner. Salina felt the cloud of tension lift away after his departure and decided to give Tom, who was covered in spit up and formula, a bath.

While Selina did enjoy Bruce's company, there was a lot of tension between them from their previous conversation. Cat kept trying to change the subject every time Bruce brought it up again. But this was a sensitive topic for her and she just didn't know how to explain it to Bruce in a way he woukd understand.

For as long as Selina could remember, it had been her and her mother. However, there were a few times when her mother would bring men home. None of them were very good husband material, let alone father material. She often detested the men her mother brought home. But it didn't phase her very much because she knew it wouldn't last long. However, before her mother's disappearance, there was one man her mom was serious about for a few months. Selina, on the other hand, did not care much for him. There's just something about him she just didn't like. So she was glad that her mother came to her senses before her disappearance and broke things off with him.

Part of the problem was that Selina wasn't used to having male authority figures, so she retaliated when her mother's boyfriends would try to set limits for her. Though it didn't really help that they often intoduced themselves to her as her "new daddy".

Selina never really saw herself settling down with a man, let alone having a family. She figured if she ever did have a child, the father probably wouldn't stick around too long anyway. After all, her father didn't, neither did many of her friends' fathers. Single mothers were very common in Gotham.

After her mother's disappearance, Selina couldn't bare the thought of losing another loved one. She swore that forthat for now on it was her against the world. She would never burden herself with the pain that came with loving someone else again.

The last year or so, Cat has been fighting herself to avoid getting close to Bruce. Selina had lived through a lot of loss in her life, but she couldn't imagine the pain Bruce was feeling while witnessing his parents murder. Throughout the year, Selina had gotten to know Bruce pretty well and, while she can't deny there was a connection, she knew that if she gave into her feelings that you would only be hurt again. Because Bruce Wayne was rich kid with a future and his butler Alfred made it very clear that the young billionaire was too good for the shady vagabond. At this point, Selina figured that love and a family we're not in the cards for her.

But everything changed the night that Cat found baby Tom in the dumpster. She couldn't believe a mother could be so callous. She felt an instant kinship with the abandoned dark haired infant who couldn't have been more than 6 months old. But an overwhelming feeling came upon her as she cradled the baby in her arms and gazed into his heartbreakingly teary blue eyes. While she didn't believe she deserved a family, she knew that this baby did.

Since the Wayne incident, Gotham and had been experiencing a recession. Many families weren't adopting or fostering. Clearly, some were even abandoning their own children. The orphanages were fuller than ever and many foster homes that were still in operation were at max capacity. If she had turned the baby in, he'd be declared a ward of the state and would most likely get lost in the foster care system until he aged out and got kicked out on the streets.

At that point, Selina knew that if his mother wasn't going to step up and take care of him, then she will. She didn't, however, plan for Bruce to find out or to volunteer to be involved in the baby's ubringing in any way.

Before Bruce stepped in, Cat did have a plan. She knew it wasn't the best plan, but at least it was realistic. A part of Selena is grateful that Bruce had volunteered to be in the baby's life. But, another part of her knows it's only a matter of time before he grows tired of them both and decides to leave them to start his "real" family. She didn't want the baby to grow attached to Bruce only for him to walk out on them. But she didn't want to deny the baby the opportunity to have a father, as she had been, either. She wanted her baby to have everything she didnt have growig up.

But Bruce was also as much of a liability as he was an asset. If anyone found out about the baby, Bruce woud surely deny any involvement and she would be left with all the blame. She'd probably lie and say it was hers so they wouldnt charge her with kidnapping. If Bruce denied being the father, it wouldn't be to far of a stretch for the cops to believe a homeless girl was taken advantage of by a stranger on the street. Her story was calculated the moment she decided to keep him, because Selina couldnt risk anyone taking Tom from her.

Salina had finish bathing her baby boy and started dressing him for bed while humming a lullaby softly. As she approached his new crib she kissed him on the forhead and started to sing the tune she had been humming out loud while she tucked him in for the night.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine." She sang softly. "You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."


	7. Chapter 7: Plans

**Hi everyone. I know its been a while, I've been trying to think of ways to make the story move along without jumping to the ending. I've honestly been wanting to write the ending since I came up with the story idea. But I had some other ideas I wanted to incorporate and felt the story would seem too short if I didn't add them. I think I'm only going to finish this in 2 or 3 more (may be able to milk it onto 4; depending on lenth) chapters because I have lots of unfinished stories and made a new years resolution to finish my incompleted fanficts so I can start new ones (and possibly an original story) guilt and distraction free (I still haven't completed the first story I posted here almost 2 years ago). I hope I can finish this by the end of the month; but then again I'm a dirty lier who has said thay before so don't take my word for it.**

 **Anyway, enough of my pitifully confusing excuses. I don't own the rights to Gotham, Batman, DC Comics, etc.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Plans

It's been two days since Bruce found out about Selena's little secret and agreed to raise a child with her. He's done everything in his power not to blow her secret, even keeping it from his butler and guardian, Alfred. Bruce has been so busy trying to help Cat, he's all but forgotten about his own personal mission of confronting his fear of bats. But the more he put it off, the more the guilt ate away at Bruce's mind.

How can he be a proper role model to Tom if he can't man up and face is own fears? How will he be able to look Tom in the face and tell him there's no such thing as monsters when he's afraid of them too? How could he expect a child to look up to him when he himself was nothing more than a scared child?

Bruce realized he has put it off long enough. At that moment he decided it wasn't enough to just be there while they were at rest. He was going to go into the cave after dark and stay in there while they are waking up and leaving the cave. At that point the mother Bobcat would most likely be out hunting as well. But he needed an alibi so Alfred wouldn't worry or try to stop him, the boy knew his legal guardian wasn't a fan of his desensitization plans.

"Good morning, Master Bruce." The butler greeted his charge warmly as he finished setting the table.

"Good morning, Alfred." The boy politely replied back as he entered the dining room and sat in his chair.

"It's a lovely day outside," The guardian mention. "Should be a nice day for hiking."

"Actually, I was thinking about keeping my hike short today." His charge countered. "It's almost the end of summer and a friend is having a gathering tonight."

"You mean like a party?" The butler questioned.

"I suppose you can call it that." Bruce said trying to keep his story as believable as possible and trying to avoid lying more then he needs to.

"Will there be girls at this party?" The concerned father figure asked. "What about parents?"

"It's not that kind of party." Bruce quickly tried to avoid answering directly. "Its more like a sleepover."

"Ah, I see." The butler replied. "Which friend is this again?"

"Kyle." Bruce blurted out truthfully and dishonestly at the same time.

He felt his heart start to pound out of fear his butler would connect the dots.

"Kyle...Kyle…?" Alfred thought for a moment trying to put a face to the name. "Is that the pasty one with the darkish blond hair?"

"That's right." Bruce agreed to the vague description, technically not lying.

"Nice chap." Alfred commented. "Haven't seen him around in a while. So what time would you need me to drive you?"

"Actually, Alfred," The boy cleared his throat. "I know you've been working a lot lately. So I thought maybe you could have tonight off."

"Then how are you supposed to get there?" Alfred questioned.

"I can call a town car." Bruce stated nonchalantly. "And you can take whichever car from the garage you'd like out into town tonight."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have me on call in case of an emergency?" The older man double checked.

"I'll be fine." Bruce reassured. "You deserve a night off." He honestly meant it.

"Well, thank you, Master Bruce." Alfred said before excusing himself to prepare the boy's hiking knapsack.

* * *

Shortly after finishing his breakfast, Bruce reached the front door of the cottage and let himself in with the key.

"Selina?" He called out.

"In here." She called over her shoulder from the kitchen.

Baby Tom was in her arms drinking from his bottle and she had a bowl of cereal that was getting soggy from sitting in the milk for too long.

"Hello." Bruce said as he came in and pulled up a chair beside her.

"Hey." She replied before handing the baby over to Bruce so she could finish her breakfast.

"So I'll be here for a while but I can't stay too long right now." He mentioned while shifting his weight to hold little Tom.

'Oh, great,' Selina thought to herself. 'It's starting already.'

"Already getting bored of us?" Selina said defensively while trying to sound sarcastic.

"Actually, I will be coming back later and I was thinking of staying the night here." Bruce informed his trespasser. "If that's alright with you."

"So, you're going to sleep here?" Cat asked. "Tonight?"

"In one of the extra bedrooms." The young man clarified, afraid she had misunderstood his intentions. "I already gave Alfred an alibi."

"You actually lied to Alfred?" The girl questioned in disbelief.

"Not really," Bruce corrected "I told him I was going to spend the night at my friend Kyle's house."

"Nice, and here I thought he had you on a leash." Selina chuckled. "I'm kind of surprised he didn't piece that one together."

"There was a boy named Kyle who was in some of my classes who used to come over for school projects." The heir informed. "Alfred assumed it was him and I just never corrected him."

"Someone's becoming a rebel." The cat enthusiast rolled her eyes. "So you're saying that you are going to be here to take care of the baby tonight?"

"More or less." The boy agreed. "I just have a task I have to do at some point tonight, but other than that I'll be here the rest of the night."

"You know he doesn't really sleep well through the night." She gave him a chance to back out.

"I don't either." He responded. "You can rest and relax while I stay up with him."

"You're sure about this?" Selina inquired in disbelief.

"I want to get to know him." Bruce confirmed. "If we're going to make this arrangement work, he needs to get to know me too."

* * *

Bruce stayed over for a little over an hour or so before heading back to the mansion to prepare for the night.

Alfred had already packed the boy's night bag and made arrangements for a town car to pick Bruce up after an early dinner. Even though he knew there would most likely be snacks at the event, the guardian didn't want to send off his charge without a proper meal and worry about the boy filling up on junk while he was enjoying himself out on the town.

Bruce took the spare time to add extra supplies to his night bag and to do some last minute research on bats to both estimate the best time to start his mission and for some reassurance that they are not aggressive unless provoked. He set the alarm on his watch to count down when he would need to head over there

Around 5:00, the town car showed up at the manner to pick up the young billionaire. The young man gave clear instructions to look like he was going into town until they were out of the butler's view and take a nearby backroad that led back near the cottage and asked to be dropped off before crossing a bridge. The heir tipped the driver extra to come back at 3 in the afternoon the next day.

Bruce crossed the bridge and walked a quarter of a mile down the path. The heir was surprised at how smoothly hos plan was going so far and was starting to get both excited and nervous about his mission. In less than 2 hours he would need to start walking to the cave and wait for the bats to awaken. When he got to the cottage he let himself in again.

"Selina?" Bruce called out while entering the home.

"I just got out of the shower," Cat muffled a respond from the other side of the closed bedroom door. "The baby's in the living room, can you check on him?"

Bruce found Tom in his old playpen playing with the toys on the attached mobile. The heir noticed how the infant smiled and laughed with joy when he was able to reach the toys hanging above him. Bruce almost envied the baby's innocence. While Tom may not have the best start, he was young enough were he wouldn't remember any of it. The boy hoped that he and Selina would be able to give him the family they thought they would never have.

Bruce picked the baby up and brought him to the room he would be using for the night. He laid the baby on a mat on the floor while he unpack and left only what he needed for his later mission in his bag. After he was settled, the young man checked and saw that he still had a lot of down time before he needed to head to the cave to see the bats take off.

He picked the baby up again and headed to the kitchen for a something to drink when he heard a knock at the front door.

Bruce looked out the peep hole and couldn't see anything but black. He heard another knock and put Tom back to the safety of his playpen before he went to open the door.


	8. Chapter 8: Change of Plans

**Hey, everyone. So this is a short chapter. I was going to make it a longer two part chapter, but the second part was running a lot longer than I wanted, so I decided to just make this it's own chapter.**

 **I dont own anything but the plot. Enjoy.**

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Chapter 8: Change of Plans

"May I help you?" Bruce said as he slowly opened the door just enough to show his face to the visitor.

"Well, that's no way to greet a guest." The short redheaded girl quipped as she removed her finger from the peep hole.

"Ivy?" Bruce asked opening the door more.

"But I guess someone as rich as you is used to having servants answer the door." She continued her criticism as she pushed herself into the entry way. "So I'll let it slide. Where's Cat?"

"What are you doing he-?" Bruce asked.

"Ivy, I told you I'd meet you there." Selina interrupted as she entered the room putting on her jacket.

"Tony needed directions." The ginger explained.

"Who's Tony?" Bruce asked.

"A street kid." Selina cut to the chase as she grabbed her boots.

"Not just any street kid." Ivy practically hissed. "Tony's 17 with a sweet ride. He's lived in it since his dad got arrested and sometimes gives other street kids a ride in exchange for food or gas money. He even has a part time job and- "

"...And Ivy has a major crush on him," Cat commented to Bruce while putting on her boots. "In case you couldn't tell."

"And unfortunately, the word on the street is he has a thing for Cat." The ginger countered.

"Gross," Selina responded. "Talk about strange danger."

The feline enthusiast finished tying her laces and walked to the kitchen to prepare a bottle.

"It's okay, Cat." The redhead replied. "I'll let you have Tony; if you let me have Bruce."

The redheaded street girl batted her eyes at the rich ebony haired boy in front of her, which made him uncomfortable.

"Why exactly are you and Tony here?" Bruce finally asked, changing the subject.

"Cat called us." Ivy answered as she pushed her way further into the house looking around before her eyes landed on what she was searching for. "And this little cutie must be Tom. Aw, he looks just like you, Bruce. Are you sure he's not really yours?"

"Positive." A blushing Bruce confirmed with a cracking voice before clearing his throat.

Selina walked back into the living room and handed Bruce the bottle before picking up Tom from his playpen.

"I changed him before my shower," Selina informed the young billionaire. "He'll probably need to be fed within the next half hour. When he's done eating let him play until around 7. After that, get him ready for bed and read him at least 1 book. One of your mom's old parenting books said that's important."

"Would someone mind telling me what's going on?" Bruce asked.

"There's a party tonight down at the old abandoned cannery." Selina finally answered. "After you said you'd watch the baby for the night, I called Ivy and told her I needed a ride."

"Selina, what I meant was-." Bruce got cut off again.

"Mommy loves you, Kitten." Selina said as she quickly hugged the baby and kiss him on the cheek before handing him to Bruce.

"But I was-" Bruce tried again.

"I should be back home around 2 or 3 so don't wait up." She warned. "Thanks, Bruce. Bye-bye, Tomcat."

Selina and Ivy ran out the door before it closed behind them. The sound of the door slamming shut startled the baby, who began to cry.

'What am I going to do?' Bruce thought to himself as he tried to sway with the baby to calm him down.

He can't take a baby to a cave full of wild animals in the middle of the night and he can't leave the baby home alone. Even if Bruce did take the baby with him, he would have to get him ready for bed by the time he would need to be there. Selina was definitely going to get an earful when she got home.


	9. Chapter 9: Confessions

**Thanks for the reviews (forgot to mention that in the last chapter). This chapter is a lot longer (and fluffier) than the last chapter. I thought it was time they opened up to each other and had a heart to heart. I might have about three or so more chapters after this since I made this it's own chapter. I want to try to finish this up soon though before I lose momentum and motivation to finish it.**

 **Anyway, as always enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Confessions

After putting Tom to bed, Bruce fell asleep on the couch while reading one of the parenting books Selina left on the coffee table. He was woken up by the sound of the front door opening.

Selina tried to close the door quietly behind her as she tried to go to her room without being noticed.

"I need to talk to you." Bruce announce as calmly as possible from the living room.

"Look, I'm not exactly in the mood to talk to anyone right now." Selina said in an irritated voice. "So this can wait until morn-."

"I think it'd be better if we discuss this now." The young heir interrupted.

"Fine." She replied bitterly.

Selina followed Bruce back into the living room and sat on the couch while Bruce remained standing and slightly paced as he prepared to lecture her.

"When I said I would help you with Tom tonight," He started off calmly. "What I meant was I would get up to take care of him when he cried in the middle of the night so you could sleep in."

"You said you wanted to bond with him." Cat countered. "If you want to be a part of his life, you need to be there for him; whether I'm there or not."

"You're right." He admitted. "But tonight, I had other plans, too."

"Oh, I see." She responded, irritated. "So it's okay for you to make plans and have fun, but not for me?"

"I never said that." Bruce defended his words. "But before I even knew about Tom, I have been trying to improve myself in various ways."

"Yeah, yeah." Selina rolled her eyes. "We all know about your detective work and self-defense training."

"Did you know that I am afraid of bats?" The young heir inquired.

"Lots of people are." The cat enthusiast replied dully.

"But I have also been trying to confront that fear." Bruce informed her. "The day I found you here, I was going to a bat cave about two miles from here before a Bobcat chased me out. I was going to take it to the next step tonight and stay in the cave while they were flying out for the night right before sunset. But instead, I had to put Tom to bed while you were at a rave."

"Hey, that party was planned for weeks." Selina defended her decision. "I was planning on going before I found Tom and wasn't even going to go anymore until you said you were staying the night."

"So let me get this straight." Bruce started to compute with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "I offered to help you and you, in return, decided to take advantage of my kindness by going partying, drinking, and God knows what with some older guy?"

"You have no idea what your talking about." Selina retorted under her breath with a scowl.

"I may not be a street kid, but I'm not naïve." The heir responded. "I know what goes on at those illegal parties."

"So that must be it." Cat commented sarcastically as she stood up to be at eye level with her accuser. "Because I'm a trashy street kid, then that must mean I automatically partake in all illegal activities."

"You did break into the guest house and admitted to stealing." Bruce pointed out. "How are you going to be a good mother to Tom if you're too busy going out partying and screwing around with sleazy guys?"

Selina firmly slapped Bruce's face.

"You obviously don't know anything about me." Cat said as she turned to leave the room, trying to fight back the tears that were building up in her eyes.

Bruce quickly followed her and gently grabbed her wrist.

"Selina, wait." Bruce said as she stopped. "What I said was out of line and uncalled for. I'm sorry."

"You know, ust because you apologize doesn't change the fact that you think I'm a loser street kid." The street kid snapped. "Here I thought you believed in me. That you thought I was capable of going to college. Capable of raising Tommy. But you just reduced me to a statistic stereotype."

"I know." The billionaire agreed. "There's no excuse for what I said; I was just me, I don't think you're trash and I do believe in you. But, when I planned on staying the night, I wasn't expecting you to stay out late partying all night." Bruce glanced at his watch. "Wait, that can't be right. It's only 9:17."

"The party sucked, so I came home early." Selina confirmed as she walked out of the hall way, towards the kitchen to grab a glass from the cabnet and some apple juice from the fridge.

"So... Tony was willing to drive you home this early?" Bruce asked nonchalantly as he followed her and grabbed himself a glass.

"I used some of my left over Casino money for a cab." She answered while pouring juice for both of them before putting the juice back in the fridge.

"Oh." The boy replied as he found a setat at the kitchen table. "I just thought… Ivy said he liked you. So I thought he'd want to make sure you got home safe."

"Trust me," The girl sighed while sitting down before taking a sip of her juice. "I was safer in a cab with a total stranger than alone in a car with him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bruce asked.

"Well, for the first hour or so, I was enjoying the party." Selina admitted and took a big sip before continuing. "But then I couldn't stop looking at the clock, wondering what you and the baby were up to. It was almost Tom's bed time when I had enough and asked Tony for a ride back home."

"And he didn't want to leave, yet?" The boy guessed before taking a sip.

"Well, he agreed to take me home… at first." The girl explained. "But when we got into the car, he said he thought he drank too much and that we should wait a while before he drives."

"At least he didn't drive drunk." He admitted to agreeing with the good judgment call as he took another sip.

"Yeah." Selina passively agreed while rolling her eyes and taking another sip. "But, anyway, I didn't thave anything to night and offered to drive the car here and make coffee to help him sober up so he could drive back."

"And I guess he didn't go for it?" The young heir assumed.

"He kept making excuses." The street kid stated. "Tony said that he didn't want to risk me getting in an accident, even though I've known how to drive since I was 12. Then he said he didn't want to waste the gas because some of the kids we picked up on the way to the party stayed on the outs of Gotham too and he didn't want to make another trip. Even after I offered him gas money. Then…" She drifted off as she took a sip of juice.

"Then what?" Bruce asked with curiosity.

"Then…" Selina sighed. "He told me there was another way I could make it worth his while. And that's when he tried to kiss me."

"What?!" Bruce practically shouted then lowered his voice to avoid waking the baby. "He kissed you?"

"He tried to kiss me on the lips." She specified. "But I pushed him away and he wound up kissing the palm of my hand. He kept trying to pull me closer to him, before I punched him in the stomach and was finally able to get out of the car. I walked a few blocks down the street from the cannery before I found a phone booth and called for a cab."

"Oh… Well, I'm sorry you didn't have a good time." Was all Bruce could think to say.

"Yeah, well… I guess I'm sorry that I pushed you into babysitting." Selina apologize. "I knew that I wouldn't be able to go out and have fun like I did before finding Tom. I figured while you're still around, I might as well have one last night out with my friends."

"What do you mean by while I'm still around?" The heir enquired.

"Who are we kidding, Bruce?" She asked rhetorically. "It's only a matter of time before you get bored of us and decide to stop visiting. Eventually you'll go off to college or study abroad one summer; then you'll meet some rich girl and lose all interest in us."

"Wow." Bruce said. "Now I know how it feels to be reduced to a cliché."

"Joke all you want, but it'll happen eventually." Selina said seriously. "You have options. This may seem like a game of house to you, but this is real for me. It's a real baby, who is going to grow up wondering why the guy who promised to be his dad isn't around anymore. Wondering why his daddy won't even call him. Honestly, I couldn't care less if you get tired of me. But if you're not going to be around for Tom when he's older, then maybe it's best if you're not involved at all."

"I'm not going anywhere." Bruce proclaimed. "I don't take my commitments lightly. When I make a promise to help someone, I do everything within my power to follow through."

"We'll see." Selina rolled her eyes as she took the last sip from her glass. "And I guess I'm also sorry that my plans ruined yours."

"I suppose it's not that big of a deal." Bruce admitted taking the last sip of his juice. "I can always go another night. I just wanted to be there while they were awake."

"So what made you decide to take on this fear-facing thing now?" She asked curiously as she got up to put both glasses in the sink and returned to her seat.

"I don't know." The heir confessed. "The nightmares I've been having about that night have been getting worse and started colliding with my fears from before. I just started to feel helpless and needed to do something to feel in control again. But, after seeing Tom, I realized that I needed to do it for him, too. I have to learn to overcome my fears, so that one day I can be the father figure and role model he needs me to be. So that no matter what, he'll always feel safe with me."

"Bruce, can I ask you something?" Selina asked.

"Of course." Bruce accepted.

"Why do you really want to help us out?" She inquired. "I mean, you could have told me to leave or called Gordon. You could have even blabbed to Alfred. Why did you choose to offer me help instead?"

"Truth be told, I've always seen things as black and white." He stated. "I used to think there was a clear line between right and wrong. Then, after meeting you- you've shown me that there is a lot of gray area when it comes to ethics. The old me wouldn't have thought twice about telling Alfred or the police and you probably would have been charged with trespassing. But I could hear in your voice how much you cared about him. And I knew that if I did anything that lead to him being taken away from you, that you'd always resent me. And the more I noticed how much you cared for him, the more I started caring for him. This is honestly the closest I'd had to a normal family in a while."

"You have a weird definition of a normal family." Selina scoffed.

"Now, can I ask you a question?" Bruce inquired.

"No." She replied, resulting in Bruce rolling his eyes. "But I guess you're going to ask anyway; so go ahead."

"Why did you decide to keep Tom?" He asked. "You know raising a child is a lot of work and you were willing to do some awful things to make sure you had the money to raise him before I offered to help. So what made you want to take on a big commitment like that, even if it meant making your life worse?"

"I know my mom wasn't exactly the best mom there was." Selina confessed. "But I could always tell she was doing her best. After she disappeared, everything went down hill: the landlord changed the locks to our apartment and I had to start stealing for food. My teachers started asking why I was wearing the same clothes to school for almost two weeks and asked for a conference with my mother. I was afraid when they found out that I'd be put in a group home. So I eventually dropped out of school. After that, I only made friends out of convenience. I avoided getting too attached to anyone. There were a few times I slipped and started to trust some people, but that was when I usually tried to cut off contact."

"Is that why you told me to leave you alone?" Bruce asked.

"Um, anyway…." Cat avoided answering his question. "When I found Tom, a part of me was afraid. I thought about dropping him off at a hospital or fire station, but I've heard they only take newborns and he looked a little old to be a newborn. I even thought about handing him over to Gordon, but I didn't want to explain to him why I was behind the Casino in the first place. Then I took a good look at him to check to make sure he wasn't hurt, but he was perfect. I don't know anyone who would throw away any baby, let alone a perfectly healthy baby like Tom. But all I knew was that I wanted to personally make sure no one could ever hurt him again. And I thought 'Maybe, I could be the mom neither of us ever had'. Pretty dumb, huh?"

"I don't think it's dumb." The heir stated as he placed her hand in his. "I think you care for him just as much as any mother would care for her child."

"I just... Sometimes I feel like I'm blowing it." Selina sighed. "Before I found him, I didn't worry about skipping a meal or sleeping under an overpass. But now I'm terrified about not having enough food or a safe home for him."

Bruce couldn't help but to hug Selina in an attempt to comfort her.

"Selina, regardless of what happens, you can always come to me if you need help." Bruce declared with a soft whispered in her ear.

Selina fought the habit she had developed of avoiding direct human contact. It had been a long time since she had received a sincere and comforting hug that she even reciprocated the hug and held on as long as he did.

As they slowly started to depart from the tight embrace, their lips accidently brushed up against each other. Their eyes akwardly met for a moment before they leaned in and kissed.

They'd kissed before, but this was different. They both opened up to each other about their deepest fears; things they had never told another living soul. They could feel the barriers of tension and secrecy have lifted. There was more intensity in their kiss this time. It felt like they both had nothing holding them back from enjoying this moment.

They instantly pulled apart from each other when they heard Tom cry.

"I should check on him." Selina announced after breaking away from the kiss.

"No, no." Bruce corrected, trying to catch his breath. "I promised you I'd watch him tonight while you relax. Just get some rest and I'll take care of everything."

Bruce walked to his room, where he moved the baby's crib for the night. Selina went to her room to get ready for bed.


	10. Chapter 10: Field Trip

**Thanks for the reviews. So after this I have like one or two more chapters planned out (three max if Iit goes longer than I planned). This is probably the last fluff chapter before reality hits and things get serious. Anyway, hope you like it. Will try to update soon.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned anything would I be writing fan fictions for free?**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Field Trip

Bruce was asleep when the baby started cooing and fussing before he felt something shaking his leg.

"Hmm?" He groaned as he opened one eye trying to avoid the light and saw Selina holding Tom. "Selina, go back to bed. I told you I'll take care of the baby."

"Get dressed." Selina said.

Bruce looked at the alarm clack on his night stand which read 4:56 AM.

"It's only 5 in the morning." He yawned as he closed his eyes and buried his head back into his pillow. "Alfred's not expecting me home until later this afternoon."

"Be ready to leave in 10 minutes." Cat ordered as she left the room and closed the door behind her to give the boy privacy.

A few minutes later he came out of his temporary room and used the bathroom to get ready before going to kitchen to make some toast. As he started to spread jam on his toast when Selina, who was wearing Tom in one of Bruce's old baby slings, entered the kitchen.

"You'll have to eat that on the way." Selina said as she quickly grabbed two water bottles and a bottle of formula out of the fridge and shoved them into the diaper bag. "We're running a little behind schedule."

"Would you mind telling me where we're going this early in the morning?" The hungry billionaire asked.

"On a field trip." Was the only information she gave as she headed for the front door.

"It's still dark outside." He protested.

"Barely." Cat replied as she grabbed his wrist and walked towards the back door in the kitchen.

* * *

Bruce could hardly see where they were going and was blindly following Selina in the dark woods.

"We've been walking for a while." He complained. "Are you sure we're not lost?"

"Calm down." Salina responded. "We're almost there."

"You still haven't told me where we're going." Bruce reminded her.

"I think it's just over here." She led the whiny boy between a few trees.

"You think?" he questioned. "You're not even sure?"

Within a few minutes they arrived at Cat's destination.

"You brought me to the cave?" Bruce asked confused.

"I kind of felt bad about ruining your plans last night." Selina explained as shifted the baby's sling and diaper bag to take off Bruce's backpack and hand it to him. "I couldn't sleep and was thinking of a way to make it up to you. So I looked through your bag and I found the map of the property and your book of bat facts. You did say that you just wanted to be here while they were awake. I though watching them coming back was just as good as watching them leave."

"I suppose it's more or less the same." The young billionaire concluded as he pulled the flashlight out of his backpack before putting it back on. "Thank you, Selina." Bruce turned on the flashlight and started to head into the cave when he realized Selina was following him. "What are you doing?" He inquired.

"You think I walked all this way for my health?" She asked sarcastically. "I'm going with you."

"With all due respect, I think it'd be better if you stayed out here." Bruce stated.

"Screw that." Selina responded. "It was my idea and I'm the one who woke you up in time. I should get to go too."

"What about Tom?" The boy inquired. "If he starts to cry, it'll echo off the cave walls and startle the animals inside. They may attack us."

Selina dug into the diaper bag.

"That's why I brought this." She said as she held out a bottle of formula. "In case he gets hungry. I also brought some binkies and quite toys."

"Nevertheless, I think this is something I should do alone." Bruce stated.

"Well, I'm not waiting out here." Selina replied.

"The point of this was facing my fear on my own." He countered.

"It doesn't have to be all or nothing." She reminded him. "You can always come back alone later if you want, but it doesn't make you any less brave to do this with someone."

Bruce sighed. He knew he was running out of time before they would come back and Selina was just as stubborn, if not more so, than him.

"Okay," He reluctantly agreed. "But we need to be as quite as possible, and we need to wait at least 10 minutes after they arrive before we can leave to make sure they are settled."

Selina nodded in agreement and followed the young thrill seeker into the cave. They walked about 4 yards in when Bruce found a flat spot by the wall. It was far enough in that he knew the bats would start roosting, but still close enough to the entrance that the bobcat and her young wouldn't be disturbed. He took off his backpack and quickly rummaged through it to get to the black sheet that was shoved at the bottom of his bag to put on the ground for him and Selina to sit on.

They sat for a few minutes in the dark, anticipating the bats' arrival. Selina took out the bottle of milk and some baby toys for easy access, while Bruce practiced some deep breathing exercises to calm his nerves. They heard faint screeches approaching near the cave as Bruce's breathing became more fast pace with anxiety.

As if he could feel the tension of Bruce's anxiety in the air, Tom started to fuss and thrash around in his baby sling. Selina took the baby out of the sling and placed him lying down between Bruce and herself before curling up next to the infant and giving him a bottle.

"Maybe you should take him outside now, before they come in." Bruce whispered.

"It's too late, I can hear them coming." She responded in a similar volume. "He's fine, but you need to calm down. Just lie back, close your eyes, and breathe for a minute."

The screeches got louder as the bats came closer and their calls started to echo off the walls of the cave.

Bruce shifted himself onto his back and inhaled slowly through his nose before exhaling out his mouth. He held his breath when he finally heard them start to enter the cave with the echoes magnifying off the walls. Selina looked over at him and noticed he wasn't breathing. She reached out and held his hand to comfort him. Bruce slightly shuddered at Selina's touch, but sighed in relief when he realized she was offering him comfort.

The boy reluctantly opened his eyes and saw a colony of bats flying over him. Bruce watched with both fear and fascination. A part of him wanted to stand up and get a better view, while his body responded to his fear by remaining still. Selina took a couple of glances at the flying creatures between checking on Tom and Bruce, who were her main focuses.

They remained there until they saw the light from the rising sun shining brightly from the mouth of the cave.


	11. Chapter 11: Reality Hits

**Thanks for the reviews. I'm almost afraid to post this chapter because it might disappoint some people who are loving the Mama Cat/Daddy Bats dynamic. I started thinking of the idea for this story in the middle of the first season so if timelines or certain details don't seem to add up regarding recent events in the show, it's because I didn't want to drift too far away from my original vision (one of the down sides of writing a story for an ongoing show). This chapter didn't quite go as smoothly as I pictured it at first, but I think it got most of the information I wanted to get across.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Chapter 11: Reality Hits

After they got back to the cottage Bruce, Selina, and Tom had a proper breakfast and rested for a while before the cab returned for Bruce. Bruce tipped the driver again, this time he tipped the cab driver handsomely to ensure the driver didn't mention anything to Alfred about the unusual route.

The next morning Bruce woke up at his usual time and ate his typical breakfast. Before he could ask Alfred to pack him a lunch for his daily hike, the butler reminded him that they needed to go into town to get fitted for a new school uniform and run errands, so his hike would have to be postponed.

Normally, Bruce loved learning and couldn't wait for school to start again, but it was one of the things he was dreading most since he started his daily hikes. It would be less time he could spend with Selina and Tom. Selina had already shared her concerns about Bruce not spending as much time with them.

But he also promised to help her study so that she could finish her education and go to college so she could get a decent career. Maybe if she studied business she could work with Bruce at Wayne Enterprise. He knew it was a long shot, but that was a secret hope of his when he offered to help her out. Even if nothing else came of it, he still wanted to be a part of her and Tom's lives for as log as she'll allowed it.

* * *

After 5 hours of running errands around town, Bruce grew anxious. He wasn't able to get a hold of Selina before they left, and he knew she would be upset that he was late.

"How much longer, Alfred?" The boy asked his guardian as they strolled past the shops of Downtown Gotham.

"I just need to drop by the butcher to pick up something for dinner." The butler assured as they reached

the end of the shop at the end of the street. The room was full of customers watching sports on the small TV up in the corner while waiting for their orders. Alfred and Bruce walked to the front desk.

"Hello, George." Alfred greeted the familiar Butcher. "We'll have the two-pound seasoned roast, please."

"There's a bit of a wait." The butcher warned the patrons. "All the butcher shops in town were busier than anticipated this week. The delivery truck is on it's way now. Shouldn't be more than a half hour."

"Not a problem." The butler replied before he and his charge took a seat with the others.

Bruce knew the longer he was away the more upset Selina would be and if they got home too late in the day it might be too dark to justify a hike. Of course, he couldn't tell Alfred why he was in a rush to get home. Selina was definitely going to give him an earful when he returned.

As Bruce let out a bored sigh, something across the street caught his eye. The Sweetatorium Bakery was just across the street. Maybe if he could get her something she wouldn't be too mad with him for being late. Now he just needed to come up with an excuse.

"Alfred, were you going to make anything for dessert tonight?" Bruce asked.

"I hadn't planned on it." The butler responded. "I usually only make desert on weekends and special occasions."

"Since we're waiting, how about I go across the street and pick up a Boston cream pie for desert." Bruce suggested, knowing that was his butler's favorite. "That way you don't have to worry about baking it."

"I could just pop over and get one." Alfred said about to stand up.

"That's okay." Bruce practically shouted as he stood up before regaining his composure. "You've been on your feet all day. Just rest and I'll take care of it."

"As you wish, Master Bruce." Alfred complied, partially confused, before sitting himself back down.

Bruce was relieved that everything was going as planned. He crossed the street and entered the bakery. Though the lobby wasn't as busy as the butcher shop's, there were a few people watching a soap opera waiting on their special orders. He looked around a bit, unsure of what Selina would like, before some chocolate covered cream puffs behind the counter caught his eye.

As Bruce was waiting in line for the cashiers to finish with the customers ahead of him, Detective Gordon walked into the bakery.

"Let me guess: a baker's dozen, Jim." One of the bakers joshed from the kitchen behind the back counter.

"Just the usual, Jeffrey." Gordon responded, used to the cops and donuts jokes. "Hey, Bruce. How you been?"

"Fine, Detective Gordon." Bruce responded. "And yourself?"

"Busy." The detective responded as their attention moved to the TV when the local news music started to play and one of the cashiers turned up the volume on the TV.

"First up on Gotham Local News: The search is still on for a missing infant causing an unexpected rise in business for local butcher shops." The male news anchor announced. "With more on tonight's top story is field reporter Veronica Vance."

Bruce felt his heart drop into his stomach when he saw the recent picture of a familiar dark haired baby being held by a young couple on the TV screen.

"Thank you, Phil." The TV reporter said. "It's been 4 days since 5-month-old Richard "Dicky" Grayson has been abducted from his parents John and Mary Grayson. Best known as 'The Flying Graysons', the headlining acrobat act from Haley's Circus. The Circus has extended their performance dates in Gotham City and postponed the rest of their tour stops until Baby Dicky is safely returned to his family."

"That's the latest case we've been working on." Gordon announced to Bruce, talking over the continuing report. "What kind of nutjob would take an innocent baby from his parents?"

"I can't imagine." Bruce responded trying to avoid eye contact with the Detective.

A clip of a distraught woman from a previous interview appeared.

"A few hours after I put him to bed," The woman stated between sobs. "I woke up and saw it was already past 3 in the morning and Dicky still hadn't woken up for one of his late night feedings. I felt something was wrong and when I went to check on him, he wasn't in his crib."

Bruce felt a twinge of guilt knowing that while the baby was alright, the baby's mother wasn't. Even worse is that he allowed Selina to convince him that the baby would be better off with them. Bruce was more than willing to help raise Tom, but he couldn't raise Dicky knowing that he had a family out there that loved him and wanted him. Bruce didn't want to be like the monster who took his parents away from him.

But then he thought about Selina. Bruce knew Selina was a thief, but a kidnapper? Did her loneliness really make her snap and cross the line from stealing money to abducting children? Was that why she was so adamant about not reporting the child abandonment to the police? Was she mentally ill?

Bruce's mind was swimming with endless questions as the news report continued on the TV. Both trying to both figure what the real story was and trying to decide what to do next. Should he tell Detective Gordon? Should he make an anonymous tip? Would he or his family name be dragged in the mud over this if word gets out that he allowed Selina to keep the baby on the Wayne property? Should he just ignore it and continue what he and Selina already planned?

As much as he wished he could, Bruce knew that wasn't an option. But none of the other options seemed good either. His thoughts were interrupted.

"Unfortunately, if they don't find the baby soon, his parents will either have to move on with the tour or stay behind." Gordon stated. "Which can be a bigger financial hit for the circus. They're already having a hard time getting people to buy more tickets when most of the town has already seen the show by now. Not to mention all the butcher shops are trying to keep up with the demand of the circus animals and their regular customers. It's kind of a sucky situation all around."

"I bet." Was all Bruce could think to say.

The lines had moved up as they continued talking. Bruce ordered the Boston cream pie and a box of a dozen mini cream puffs, while Jim ordered a small box of éclairs and bear claws for him and Bullock.

"Anyway, I know Selina has a way of getting information about what goes on in Gotham after hours." Gordon stated as he and Bruce started to exit the shop. "But I haven't been able to track her down lately. So if you see her around, could you tell her to contact me if she's heard or seen anything about this."

"I'll pass it along if I see her." Bruce agreed.

"Alright, and if you found out anything you got my cell number." The detective reminded him. "See you around, Bruce."

"Bye, Detective Gordon." Bruce responded as he headed back to the Butcher shop where Alfred was already coming out through the front door.

"Ah, there you are Master Bruce." The butler greeted his charge. "I thought you were just getting the pie for dessert." Addressing the small box of cream puffs.

"I was feeling a bit light headed," Bruce explained. Which, given the recent circumstances, wasn't exactly a lie. "I think my blood sugar dropped."

"I'm not surprised." Alfred replied. "You probably ate too much treats at the sleepover and worked it off from today's activities." He reasoned. "Just try to keep it to no more than 2 before dinner, I don't want you to spoil your appetite."

"Sure thing, Alfred." The adolescent boy responded nervously as they walked back to the car.

Bruce wasn't sure he could stomach eating anything at the moment. His stomach was in knots, twisted with guilt and confusion. He wasn't quite sure how to fix the problem, yet. The billionaire orphan knew that he had to return Tom, or Dicky, back to his family. As much as it would hurt him and Selina to give up Tom, it was what's best for the baby and the right thing to do.

The old Bruce would have told Gordon right away. But then again, the old Bruce also would have called the cops on Selina the minute he found her in the guest house. But as he got older and as life got more complicated, Bruce saw things differently than he did before the night his parents died.

Bruce made a promise to Selina that he wouldn't get the police involved and he didn't want her to resent him the way he resented the man who took his parents from him. He was definitely dreading his daily visit today.

* * *

 **Author's note: For those who aren't familiar with the comic books or other Batman related shows, Dick Grayson was the first Robin (I just called him Dicky here because the name Dick sounds too harsh for a baby), and yes his parents showed up in the series after I started writing this story but I decided to continue writing it anyway. But based on other events that have happened since, my ending is a little different than I originally intended. Not sure if anyone suspected it or if they weren't sure I would declose the baby's real identity, but the little bird song they sang earlier was my way of giving a mini clue (representing the 4 main Robin's). Anyway I hope to put up the next chapter soon.**


	12. Chapter 12: Decisions

**Thanks for the reviews. I know it's been a while since I've updated this story so I finally found the motivation to finish this chapter. I got one pm question about where was Bullock in the last chapter. In my mind he was waiting in the car while Gordon was picking up their order. Not very exciting but I didn't really have any lines for him and didn't want him to just be a literary decoration (if that makes sense).**

 **ETA: I figured I would get the question "who took him". Don't worry, that will be explained in the end. At first I was juggling between a few option and as the series continued I kept changing my mind on the who and why, but I now have a clear vision of who and why. So stay tuned and it will all be revealed.**

 **Anyway, I hope you like it. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 12: Decisions

After Bruce and Alfred got back home, Bruce grabbed a few things and headed for the cottage. Every step he took caused him to become more agitated. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle this situation, nothing about it made sense.

There was no doubt in his mind that the baby in those pictures from the news were of the same baby Bruce and Selina had planned on raising together.

But both stories didn't add up. Mary Grayson was obviously suffering from her baby being taken; but Selina said she found Tom in the dumpster. How did the baby wind up in a dumpster blocks away from where he was taken? Did Selina lie and really took him from his parents? Did Mrs. Grayson lie and really throw out her baby? Maybe she felt bad about it and lied? Maybe the baby's father did and she was covering for him? Maybe the father did it and she just didn't know?

The more Bruce wondered, the more he realized he was unfairly favoring Selina's side over the Graysons'. Bruce knew Selina had a checkered past. He knew she was capable of breaking the law in order to survive, but would she really take an innocent child from a loving home to raise him as her own? Was she really that lonely?

Bruce's head was spinning, mentally arguing both in favor and against Selina, as he approached the front porch of the cottage. He found the key under the mat and opened the door.

"So nice of you to drop in, after half the day is gone." Selina bitterly remarked from the living room floor where she was playing with Tom.

"Sorry, Alfred and I had to run some errands in town and I didn't have time to come visit before." Bruce apologize, trying to keep her calm. "But I got something for you."

He sat on the couch next to where they were playing and cautiously pulled out the small box of pastries from his backpack and handed it to her.

"I guess I can forgive you." Selina replied as she accepted the cream puffs.

Bruce took a deep breath, unsure of how to bring up the delicate topic.

"So when did you find Tom?" He asked.

"I told you, I found him late Friday night." Selina responded before biting into a pastry.

The same night baby Dicky had reportedly gone missing, Bruce mentally noted.

"And you found him where, exactly?" Bruce asked, trying to see if she would change the story.

"In the dumpster behind the casino." Cat replied, slightly annoyed with Bruce's questions.

Bruce was still new at studying how to read people, but he still didn't detect any deception in her answers.

"And you said he was in a bassinet basket?" Bruce asked.

"What, are you writing a book or something?" Selina asked defensively. "What's with all the questions?"

"Selina," Bruce sighed, trying to find the most delicate way to bring it up. "Today at the bakery I saw something on the news. A family of circus performers reported a missing baby."

Cat tried to keep calm as she felt her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. She just remained silent.

"Selina, do I need to ask you again?" He asked firmly.

"You think I'm lying?" Selina retorted.

"I think you may believe that's the truth." Bruce replied.

"Oh, so you think I'm crazy?" She countered. "You're taking the word of some circus freaks over me?"

"I don't know what to believe anymore." He admitted. "You don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to telling the truth."

"Kids go missing all the time." Cat responded. "It may not even be the same kid."

"His name is Dicky Grayson." Bruce responded confidently. "He looks just like Tom, approximately the same age, and was reported missing the same night you found him. Detective Gordon even asked me to ask you if you have any information."

"You didn't rat me out, did you?" Selina asked.

"I didn't want to say anything until I had all the facts straight." Bruce said.

"The fact is, if Tom is that baby, they abandoned him." Selina said as she scooped the baby up in a protective hug as she stood up. "They should be rotting in jail."

"If they abandoned him, why would they report him missing?" Bruce asked.

"To throw off suspicion." She replied nervously pacing the room. "People would ask about the baby. They'd want to know why he's gone all of a sudden. She probably figured he'd die in the dumpster and never be found or identified."

"Selina, I think you are overthinking this." He responded while rubbing his temple to try to relieve his massive headache. "That still doesn't explain why she would abandon him."

"Maybe she had that postpartum depression thing." Selina explained while trying to rock Tom to sleep. "Some moms just can't deal with their kids and get sick of having them around. Mine did."

Bruce could tell that she was trying to hold back tears. He took a deep breathe and stood up.

"I know your mom was never there for you." Bruce said as gently as he could manage trying to make eye contact with Selina. "I can't even begin imagine the pain of feeling rejected or abandoned by your own flesh and blood. And I wish more than anything that you never had to experience it.

'But I do understand the pain of losing your family. I understand the feeling of losing your sense of self when the people who've created you and helped make you into everything you've become are taken away too soon. For months, I held on to every memory of my parents because I knew there would never be another chance to make a new memory of them."

"Family ain't just blood, you know." Cat reminded Bruce as she broke eye contact and place Tom down in the playpen. "Especially when your blood family literally throws you away."

"We don't know that for a fact." Bruce retorted. "I still don't think the Graysons would get the police involved if they had anything to do with it."

"So what...?" Selina scoffed. "You think someone kidnapped a baby just to put him in a dumpster?"

"At this point, I'm willing to believe anything is possible." He stated.

"You're crazy." She shook her head in frustration. "You are crazy if you think I am going to give him up and let him be raised by circus people."

"Please be reasonable." The young billionaire pleaded. "In case you've forgotten, we're still kids. We still have a lot of growing up to do before we are responsible enough to take on raising a child."

"You just want an easy out." The angry girl spat out bitterly. "You regret promising me you'd help raise Tom and now you're just looking for any excuse to back out. Even if it means ripping him out of my arms. But, you know what, I don't need your money or your fake promises. I had a plan before you even showed up and I'll do whatever I have to do to keep my baby."

"He's not your baby!" Bruce tried to remind her in a tone that came across harsher than he had intended.

Selina slapped Bruce hard across his face before picking up Tom. She stormed off into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

Bruce knew he was losing control of the situation. He took a breath before following Selina and the baby to the bedroom. He knocked on the locked door.

"Selina, you can't do this." Bruce said through the door.

"I can do whatever the hell I want." Selina snapped back as she was trying to pack up as much of hers and Tom's belongings into a diaper bag while the baby sat in his crib.

"I know you love Tom." He stated. "I'm sure you love him as much as the Graysons love Dicky."

"If they loved him so much they would have given him a better name." She responded as Tom started to fuss in his crib.

"It could be a family name, like 'Tom' was." The young billionaire reminded her. "Regardless of their name choices, they seemed really upset. Especially his mother."

"There's a shock." The unimpressed teen scoffed sarcastically while finishing packing. "A circus performer who knows how to put on an act for an audience."

"It wasn't act." Bruce insisted as he rummaged through his backpack. "I keep replaying that news report in my mind. From what I learned about reading people, I didn't detect any signs of deception or guilt in her voice or body language."

"Then she must be a psychopath." Cat suggested as started to open the window. "They don't have any remorse. That would explain how he ended up in a dumpster."

"True psychopaths are rarer than horror films lead people to believe." Bruce informed her as he slide a page from the newspaper he picked up before heading home earlier that day. "I don't think this woman would do anything to harm her baby."

On the other side of the door, Selina tossed the fully packed diaper bag out the window. Just before she was about to pick up Tom from his crib to crawl out, she saw the newspaper slide from under the door.

Selina noticed the article title 'Beloved Circus Baby Still Missing'. She felt her heart skip a beat as she walked closer to the newspaper and saw several random pictures of the missing baby with different circus people, everyone from the elephant trainers to Mr. Haley himself. She picked it up to get a closer look and noticed that missing baby did in fact resemble Tom to the T. The biggest picture of all was at the bottom of him with his parents posing in front of a trapeze in their Flying Graysons uniform.

She skimmed through the article that contained statements from both the parents and several performers all wishing for baby Dicky's safe return.

Selina wanted so hard to believe that Tom wasn't Dicky. She wanted to still believe that his parents didn't really want him. Was it so much to ask that just once someone she loved would stick around? She was willing to do anything to keep him, even if it meant degrading herself to make money to support him. But the one thing that scared her the most was the thought of losing him. The thought of losing another loved one and being alone. Her mother abandoned her, she never knew her father or any relatives for that matter. The street kids all look out for themselves and she could never fully trust a rich kid like Bruce. The only living things that ever showed her any affection were the stray cats she fed.

But when Selina found Tom she thought maybe if she raise him as her own, he would accept her as his mother and would love her unconditionally. Maybe if Selina could be the mother she never had to Tom, she could break the cycle. She could have at least one person in this world who she mattered to.

But at what cost? The police in Gotham were familiar with her and would get suspicious if they saw her with an infant. Her and Tom would have to spend their lives on the run.

And what if one day Tom found out about his original family? Would Tom be upset that she kept it a secret from him? Would he be upset that he could have had both a mom and a dad growing up? Would she be able to give him everything he needs growing up? Would he grow up to hate her for taking his parents away?

Selina's brain and heart were dueling internally. She looked down at the now sleeping baby Tom with tears in her eyes.

"Selina, are you still there?" Bruce asked from the other side of the door.

Bruce stepped back as he heard the knob being unlocked and the door began to open. Selina stepped out with tears streaming down her face as she immediately embraced Bruce. There was a moment of silence as he realized what it meant.

"I'll miss him too." Bruce whispered in her ear, trying to console her.

"He's all I got." Selina said between sobs.

"My offer still stands." Bruce reminded her. "I'll be here for you no matter what happens."

Selina took a moment before she pulled away and tried to regain her composure.

"So," She said while wiping the last tear from her eye. "How are we going to get To-… Dicky back to his parents? We obviously can't just hand him over to the cops without a bunch of questions or getting in trouble."

"Don't worry." The young billionaire assured. "I think I have a plan."


	13. Chapter 13: Operation Home

**Hi, everyone. Thanks for the reviews. Someone private messaged me asking where Detective Bullock was when Gordon was getting donuts, in my mind I pictured him either waiting in the car or back at the precinct doing paper work. I figure he is tired of the 'cops and donuts' jokes (but still enjoys donuts) and usually sends Jim to get them.**

 **Anyway, I know I promised only two more chapters, but this one wound up being longer than I had originally planned and I usually try to keep my chapters about 1,500-2,000 words (not too short, not too long; in my opinion). Plus it's been a while, and I wanted to finally post something because that crazy little thing called life keeps getting in the way. Next one should be up soon and hopefully I can get the official last chapter in shortly after that (I am hoping to be done with this story before my birthday next week).**

 **Anyway, Enough of my babbling and excuses. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 13: Operation Home.

Later that night, the black-clad teens were in the back seat of one of Bruce's many cars trying to prepare for baby Dicky's return to the circus. Selina was cradling the baby while feeding him. Since Bruce didn't want to risk Selina getting in trouble for not reporting an abandoned child or his family name getting dragged in the mud by the media for his involvement if they go to the police, they decided the best thing was to return him directly to the circus that night.

"I still don't know why we had to involve Jeeves." Selina whispered bitterly. "I could have driven us."

"Believe me, Miss Kyle," Alfred stated while looking into her reflection in the rear view mirror "I would much rather not be an accessory in all this."

"Remember, Alfred" Bruce pointed out "You're the one who promised on my last birthday that if I ever found myself in trouble and in need of a ride that you would pick me up without judgement."

"To be fair, Master Bruce," The butler countered. "The scenario I pictured didn't involve aiding and abetting in child abduction."

"I didn't abduct him." Selina corrected. "I found him. Besides we're returning him."

"I am sure the police will see it differently." The butler retorted.

"Which is why I came up with this plan." Bruce countered.

"Remind me why we invited Willie Wet-Blanket?" Cat rolled her eyes.

"If we park the car too close to the fairgrounds, it increases the chances of someone seeing us and reporting the plate numbers." The young billionaire reminded her. "And if we park too far we're more likely to get caught before we return him or get back to the car. It's best if Alfred drops us off as close as possible to the entrance and picks us up a few blocks away."

"And just how exactly do you expect to drop off the baby without getting caught?" Alfred asked, unsure of how well they thought this through.

"We already gave him a bath and thoroughly cleaned the basket I found him in to remove any fingerprints." Selina reminded the butler. "And we've used gloves since his bath when handling him so they can't trace anything."

"We're going to drop him off on the Grayson's doorstep and leave as soon as possible." Bruce explained.

"There must be hundreds of tents and trailers." Alfred pointed out. "How will you know which one belongs to the Graysons?"

"The kidnappers apparently didn't have a hard time finding him." Selina stated as she burped the baby.

"Pull up here." Bruce commanded his butler.

Selina swaddled the baby snugly with a pacifier in his mouth before placing the baby in his Moses basket. She closely cradled the basket close to her body to avoid disturbing the baby with jarring movements as she stepped out of the car.

"We'll meet you at the corner of McDowell and Winchester." Bruce reminded his butler as he stepped out of the car before quietly closing the door.

As the butler drove off, the teens made their way to the entrance gate, which was obviously locked. Selina gently handed the baby over to Bruce for a moment as she dug into her pocket for her lock picking tools. Once the lock was opened, she took the baby's basket back into her arms as they both headed behind the big tent to the trailers and tents of the performers.

They hid the bushes that covered the fence surrounding the fairground perimeter as they scanned the grounds to get a feel for the layout. The young billionaire noticed a posted map behind the big top.

"Stay here." Bruce whispered.

The boy crept from the bushes to a posted directory of the residents. He quickly scanned the map looking for the Graysons' location, when he heard familiar male voices coming from around the corner of the portable latrines.

"I don't care what you say, Jim," one husky voice said as a distant orb of light came closer. "The past tense of 'fit' should be 'fat'."

"You're a grown man, Harvey." Detective Gordon retorted. "You shouldn't need a 3rd grade grammar lesson."

Bruce hid behind a line of beverage carts lined against the fence opposite of Selina as the detectives came around the corner.

"Well, look." Bullock started. "Say one day you tried on a pair of pants that fit you perfectly and you put on the same pants the next day. Only now they don't fit, even though they 'fat' yesterday."

"I think that means you were fit yesterday and fat today." Gordon joked as they passed the carts and proceeded around the perimeter.

"Smart-ass." Harvey mumbled as his voice faded out.

After the cops were out of sight, Bruce returned to the board and scanned the map finding that the acrobats were near the train tracks on the other side of the fairgrounds. He rushed back to the bush were Selina was.

"They're on the other side of the campsite in trailer G7." Bruce reported in a whisper.

"What are Wingus and Dingus doing here?" Cat asked, matching his volume.

"Detective Gordon told me this was their latest case." The young billionaire replied. "They must taking over security."

"Great." Selina sighed sarcastically.

"We just need to go to follow them and keep our distance." Bruce replied. "If necessary we split up and I distract them so you can bring him back."

"Yeah, and then if you get caught you'll rat me out to save your own skin." Cat retorted.

"Do you really think I would do that to you?" Bruce asked, slightly offended. "Look, we don't have time for this. The important thing is to return Dicky to his family without causing a scene. Just trust me."

The teens scurried off toward the detectives' direction, cautiously following them while keeping a healthy distance to stay hidden. The site was mostly dark with a few spread out street lights illuminating small sections, which Bruce and Selina stayed out of.

They were close to the end of the fence near the tracks when the baby dropped his pacifier and started to fuss. Selina quickly placed her gloved pinky in the babies mouth as a substitute and the teens hid behind a booth.

The detectives turned around and Harvey directed his flashlight to check the dark spots.

"GCPD." Harvey stated as he used the light to search for the source of the sound.

The baby fussed again, starting to squirm in his basket that Selina had snugly pressed against her, as the detectives began to head towards the booth.

"Run." Bruce whispered in Selina's ear, as he ran towards the end of the fence and she ran in the opposite direction with the baby.

"Split up." Gordon said, noticing the dark shadows behind the booth.

Gordon ran off in Bruce's direction as Bullock chased Selina and Dicky.

Selina continued running towards the entrance as the baby fussed and squirmed in the basket at the jarring movement. The middle aged cop was no match for the teen and still far behind her. Selina saw the ticket stand and saw an opportunity to hop over the fence.

Cat jumped for it, but missed and fell on her side near the fence, with Dicky still secured to her body. The infant's fussing stopped shortly after she landed on the ground. Normally the cat enthusiast with feline-like reflexes could have made it, but the extra weight from the baby and limited use of her arms through her off balance.

Harvey quickly caught up and drew his gun from his hip as he rolled his flashlight on the intruder's back.

"Gotham Police." Bullock shouted at her. "On your feet with your hands up."

Selina stood up with her back still facing Bullock and put one hand up as she used the other to the baby.

"Both hands." Detective Bullock ordered as he pointed his gun. "And turn around."

The girl turned around still with only one hand up. The flashlight harshly hitting her face as the detective took a few steps closer and realized who she was.

"For crying out loud, kid!" Harvey exclaimed as he lowered his gun. "Why is it every other time I'm on a case, you some how wind up getting in the way?"

"Must be destiny." Cat said jokingly.

The Detective then realized she was cradling a basket close to her body.

Harvey lifted his gun again pointing it at her face.

"You took the baby?!" He yelled in frustration and disbelief. ""Seriously?!"

"I didn't take him." Selina replied.

"Put the baby down and step back." Harvey shouted from behind his gun.

Selina gently place the basket containing the baby on the ground between her and the detective. She put both hands up and slowly backed up against the fence as Harvey grabbed the basket and put the baby behind him before returning his attention to Cat.

"Like I said, I didn't take him." She repeated. "I found him."

"Of course, you did." Bullock retorted sarcastically. "You just happened to find a baby that was abducted."

"Look, I found him in a dumpster behind the casino." Selina explained. "I'm not sure how he got there, but at the time I thought his mom threw him away. I just found out today that he was kidnapped from the circus."

"You just found a baby in a dumpster and didn't think to call anyone?" The gun wielding detective countered.

"You're a cop." Cat pointed out. "You should know more than anyone how terrible the system is. The orphanages and group homes here are past maximum capacity. No one in Gotham is fostering or adopting in this economy. And most of those kids wind up on the streets by their 18th birthday. But I didn't want that for him; so I thought who better to take care of an unwanted child than me? And when Bruce offered to let us..."

"Wait, Bruce?" Harvey interrupted. "As in the Wayne kid? You got that nice boy mixed up in this mess?"

"Look," Selina sighed, realizing her mistake. "I know you don't trust me and I know this looks really, really, REALLY bad. But Bruce just wanted to protect me. And as you can see we are returning Tom… Dicky, to his parents. No blood, no foul."

"You know, you have pulled a lot of crazy crap in the past." The detective observed. "But this one really takes the cake. You really thought you could raise a baby when you can barely take care of yourself."

"I get by just fine." The offended girl sharply replied.

"Look, truth is: I don't really care what you have to say." Harvey countered. "The point is you had the missing baby and didn't come to us. Not to mention you didn't report a possibly abandoned child and you're trespassing. Sorry kid, but I got to call this in."

With his free hand, Detective Bullock took out his cell phone with his gun still pointed at the cornered girl and started calling for backup.


	14. Chapter 14: Homecoming

**FINALLY. I have been working on this story since season 1 and it's almost done (the main plot of the story is done, anyway). Thank you all for your patience and reviews. I had a hard time with this chapter from putting it off for so long because my idea's on how to wrap it up kept changing. When I finally did get to writing it, I had to convince myself it was believable and still followed through with how I wanted it to end since when I first started it. I'm kind of nervous because I don't know if everyone is going to accept this chapter (or the next chapter). The only thing in my mind that kept changing as the show progressed was who would be responsible for Dicky's disappearance. Next chapter will be the last, I know I have been breaking a lot of my set deadline goals, but I WILL get the last chapter up before Season 4 premieres even if I have to break my tv and glue myself to the computer.**

 **Okay, enough of my lame excuses and babbling, I hope you like it. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 14: Homecoming

Detective Gordon chased after his suspect towards the train tracks behind the fairgrounds, the current venue of Haley's Circus.

Bruce found himself cornered when he took a wrong turn into a cargo trailer with only a few short stacks of boxes. He hid behind the stacks as Detective Gordon zeroed in on him. Jim closed the door behind him and turned on the overhead light before reaching for his gun and pointing it at the boxes.

"There's no way out of here." The Detective stated. "Come out with your hands up."

The reluctant teen slowly rose to his feet from behind the boxes with his arms up.

"Bruce?" Jim said as he put gun down. "What are you doing here?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Bruce stated trying to remain calm and put his hands down.

"Try me". The Detective responded, putting his gun back in the holster.

"Well, Selina and I are trying to return Dicky to his parents." The boy confessed.

"Wait, you and Selina abducted the baby?" Gordon concluded.

"No, she found him in a dumpster," Bruce stated. "We thought his family abandoned him before we found out about the abduction."

"How long have you known?" The detective asked.

"I knew about her having the baby since the morning after she found him." The boy admitted. "But I didn't know who he was or that he was abducted until I saw the news report earlier today."

"Then why didn't you say anything at the bakery?" Gordon asked.

"I had to talk to Selina first." Bruce admitted. "I had to make sure she was telling the truth about how she found him and I wanted to give her a chance to decide for herself to return Dicky. Perhaps there was also a part of me that feared if we went down to the precinct with the baby that she would get arrested and that my family and Wayne Enterprises would be bashed by the press because of my involvement."

"Bruce," The detective said as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You and Selina know you can always call me if you're in trouble."

"I told her to report it before we knew who he was." Bruce confessed. "But she didn't want him to be bounced around in foster homes by the state. Despite Selina's... questionable ethics, she really cares about him. She was even willing to do a lot of awful things to make money so she could raise him."

"So where is Baby Dicky now?" The detective asked.

"Selina had him when she ran off in the opposite direction, when you and Detective Bullock found us." The boy claimed. "We wanted to just drop him off in front of the Grayson's trailer and leave."

At that moment Gordon's phone rang and he immediately picked it up.

"Jim?" His partner replied on the other end of the phone.

"Harvey." Gordon confirmed as he looked at a guilty looking Bruce.

"Did you catch your suspect?" Bullock asked, getting ready to gloat about his recent discovery.

Detective Gordon sighed.

"Uh... no." Jim lied as a wave of relief washed over Bruce. "He jumped the fence and kept running pass the trees behind the train track."

"Huh." Harvey replied, sensing something was off with his partner's response.

Bullock could tell Jim was hiding something. He learned a long time ago to pick up on the tells Jim gave away when he was lying or covering something up.

"So what about you?" Gordon changed the subject.

"Yeah..." The other detective hesitated as he took another look at the girl he was pointing his gun at and another look at the baby in the bassinet beside him. "My guy was too fast. Ran straight through the entrance. I don't know, maybe we should think about cutting back on those donut."

"Yeah, just as well." Gordon concluded. "It was probably just some bums looking for food scraps."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's all it was." Harvey agreed, playing along.

"Well, listen: stay where you are. I'll meet you at the entrance and we'll do another lap around the perimeter." Jim informed his partner as he hung up the phone. "You said you're planning on returning the baby to his parents, right?" He asked Bruce.

"Absolutely." Bruce agreed.

"Find Selina." Detective Gordon ordered. "The Grayson's trailer is the blue one with the bird wind chimes on the porch. It will take me about 15 minutes to get to the entrance and back. By the time Bullock and I return, I want the baby to be returned to his parents and I want you and Selina off the fairgrounds."

"No problem." The boy agreed.

"And expect a call from me tomorrow for more details." Gordon added as Bruce's expression dropped from relief to panic. "I'll keep it off the record, but hopefully we can find something that can help us find whoever took Dicky in the first place."

"Okay." Bruce agreed again, a little more reluctantly this time.

"And Bruce," Jim continued as he unlocked the door. "Promise me next time you find yourself in a situation like this, you'll come to me before coming up with anymore crazy plans."

"I promise." Bruce promised.

"Pass that along to Selina, too." The detective added before he stepped out the boxcar door.

* * *

"You have 10 minutes to get him back to his parents." Bullock informed his suspect as he put away his weapon. "Then I want you off the fairgrounds and I don't want to see or hear from you for at least a week."

"You're letting me go?" The confused girl asked.

"It's getting late and this way is less paperwork." Harvey only partially lied. "But remember this, kid: you owe me big time. Next time you have intel on something big going on in Gotham, I want to be the first to hear the details. No games, just answers and details."

"Deal." Cat nodded as she grabbed the baby basket.

"Not so fast." The detective added as he blocked her path. "That's not including the questions about this case. Before the week is up, I expect a full report about the night you found Dicky and every detail you can remember up until you return him."

"You're seriously giving me homework?" Selina asked. "I thought you were going to let it slide."

"As far as the Gotham City PD is concerned, you were never here." Detective Bullock stated. "But I still need to collect as much information as possible so we can catch whoever did take The Grayson's baby. So I better have an in-depth report on my desk by noon next Monday or I will pursue charges for not reporting a found missing child."

"Whatever, fine." Cat gave up trying to reason with the detective as she quickly walked off with the baby towards the other end of the fairgrounds.

As irritated as she was with Bullock's threats, Selina genuinely wanted to help catch whoever tried to throw Dicky away.

The girl stayed in the shadows to keep out of plain site. She froze up against the fence momentarily when she saw Detective Gordon heading her way, afraid of wasting time having to re-explain everything to him. She could have sworn she saw a small smirk on his face as he glanced into the shadows where her and the baby were hiding as he continued walking nonchalantly towards the entrance.

Once the detective was out of site, the teen girl headed back to the spot her and her partner in crime got separated. She finally saw Bruce and came out of the shadows to meet up with him.

"I'm surprised you didn't get caught." Selina admitted.

"I did." Bruce confessed. "But Detective Gordon said as long as we return Dicky and leave quickly, he won't tell anyone we were here."

"I'm starting to think Bullock and Gordon are spending too much time together." Selina realized.

Bruce lead the way to the blue trailer described by Detective Gordon. Selina stopped by a tree across the way from the Grayson's trailer. She asked Bruce for a moment alone with the baby. Bruce spotted a nearby storage shed against the fence. He instructed Selina that once she drops the baby off on the door step to knock and run to the shed and hop the fence before taking his own advice to give her privacy.

Selina placed the basket on the ground and picked up the baby to cradle him in her arms one last time. Baby Dicky looked up at her, smiling through his pacifier cooing softly at her familiar face.

"Look, kid." Selina sighed as she struggled to look directly at the baby's angelic face. "I know we haven't known each other very long, and I know that you probably won't remember me or any of this anyway. And, trust me, if I had it my way I'd get to keep you and raise you as my own like I planned."

She took a deep breath trying to continue without tears as she was finally able to make eye contact with his big blue eyes.

"But it's better this way." She admitted. "After all, I'm just a street kid. Even with Bruce's help, I can't give you the family you deserve because you deserve to know where you came from. You deserve to feel like you belong. That's something I'll never be able to give you because it's something I've never had. I got to admit, I'm a bit jealous of you. I never knew my father and my mom hasn't been in the picture for a long time. But both of your parents seem to love you. The whole circus must really love you if they aren't leaving town without you."

She paused for a quick moment to gain her composure.

"But, anyway, I don't want to be the reason you missed out on knowing your family." The girl concluded. "Because more then anything, I just want you to be happy. Even if it means I'm not. If you do remember anything about me, I hope that you remember how hard is for me to give you back and to remember that I'll always love you. More then you'll ever know."

Selina quickly embraced the baby, fighting tears as she put him back in the basket.

Cat walked that last few paces to the Grayson's front porch. She quickly kissed the baby on the forehead before placing his basket on the porch. She took a deep breath and knocked loud enough to awaken even the heaviest of sleepers before dashing off to the shed. The baby started to panic when Selina was out of sight, causing him to fuss and eventually cry.

"Detectives…. Is that you?" The drowsy woman from inside murmured loudly as she put on her robe and walked to the front door.

Once she entered the living space of the trailer, she began to hear a muffled cry. The crying instantly snapped her out of her sleepy daze as she ran the rest of the way to the door and quickly opened it. She paused for a moment in shock, unsure if she was still dreaming; doubting that her prayers have finally been answered. Then tears began to run down her face as she picked up the crying baby, who instantly calmed down as soon as he was back in his mother's warm embrace.

"JOHN!" Mary cried tears of joy as she ran back into her home. "John, wake up! We found him! Dicky's back! My baby's home!"

The teens couldn't help but to smile when they heard the happy cries of the mother coming from the trailer. But their moment was cut short when they noticed Detectives Gordon and Bullock approaching the scene and decided to start heading back to meet up with Alfred. Bruce knew Selina's lingering smile was bittersweet.

"My offer still stands, you know." The young billionaire declared. "You can stay in the cottage or move into one of the guest rooms in the manor, if you'd like. I can still help you with school and everything."

"Thanks." Cat said. "But, no thanks."

This caught the young heir off guard.

"If you need space and want to stay in the guest house, I understand." The boy offered.

"It's not that." The girl claimed. "Like I told you before, the streets are my home. Besides, I don't think I can go back to living in the guest house without Tom. It's just not home without him."

"I know it was difficult for you to give him up." Bruce stated. "But maybe one day, when he's older, his parents will tell him everything. He might take comfort in knowing somewhere out there, someone cared enough about him to return him to his family."

"I know it's for the best." Selina responded. "But I miss him so much already."

"I miss him, too." Bruce admitted.

"Yeah, right." Cat rolled her eyes.

"I do miss him." The young heir declared. "He was very well-behaved for a baby. I just hope my future children are as calm as he was. Perhaps the next time the circus is in town we can go together."

"That's if the circus even decides to come back to Gotham after all of this." The girl countered.

"Whenever the circus is near by." Bruce decided.

"I doubt they're going to have a baby in a circus act." She retorted.

"Then we'll make it a tradition and go every year, my treat." He responded. "Maybe in a few years he'll be in an act. I bet I can even get us in to meet the performers backstage."

"That would be nice." Selina acknowledged.

"Who knows," The heir considered, "Maybe we'll become friends with the Graysons and get to visit him even when they're not on tour."

"You do realize that by the time he's old enough to have hold an intelligent conversation, you're going to be in your mid 20's, right?" Cat questioned.

"What's wrong with that?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah, because that isn't weird." Selina scoffed. "A grown man whose best friend is a kid? You guys wouldn't have anything in common. Kids like to have fun and play games. Your idea of a game is playing Sherlock Holmes by researching old newspaper clippings of police reports. What are you guys going to do for fun, run around town in Halloween costumes solving crimes? Get real, Bruce."

Selina walked with Bruce back to the car before disappearing back into the dark streets of Gotham. The next day, Haley's Circus left Gotham and continued on with the tour. A week later, after Alfred finally allowed him to leave the house unsupervised again, Bruce was able to stay in the cave by himself for up to an hour at sunset, as the bats woke from their slumber. He even got comfortable enough to practice his meditation in the cave while they slept, unbothered by the bats and other wild occupants. Selina went back to pickpocketing drunk gamblers behind the casino.

Selina and Bruce kept their words to the detectives and gave them all the information they could remember and asked in return to be notified with any updates on the case. Neither of the kids, nor the GCPD, ever discovered who was initially responsible for Dicky's disappearance.

* * *

 **Just because they never found out who it was, doesn't mean you won't. Stay tuned for the final chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15: The Culprit

**Hi, everyone. Well, it's finally here, a little late on my deadline; but it took a while to get this chapter just right. Thanks for the reviews. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I knew where I was going to end up when I started writing but kept going back and forth with who I wanted to be behind the whole thing. Anyway, this is the last chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 15: The Culprit

In downtown Gotham, a man in a suit was waiting anxiously in a nice restaurant for his dinner guest to arrive. The man had a some bruises and cuts on his face, as well as a bandage covering his nose. He stood up to greet the 3 men approaching his table. The man in the middle took off his hat to place on the table, revealing his bald head. The bandaged man bowed before the bald man as he shook his hand. The injured man and bald man took a seat as the other two men remained standing.

"Don Falcone, it is always an honor-"

"Cut the crap, Arnie." The Don interrupted as one of the associates behind him handed the boss a newspaper. "You know why I called you here."

"Yes, sir." Arnie replied.

"You see, when I hire someone to do a job," Carmine stated while thumbing through the newspaper, "I believe they are capable of getting that job done correctly."

"Yes, Don Falcone." The employee agreed.

"Then do you mind explaining this to me." Falcone stated as he put the article about the lost and recently found circus baby in front of the nervous man.

"I can explain, Don." The nervous employee replied. "I was on my way to the safe house with the baby when-"

"Why did you take the baby in the first place?" The boss asked.

"I don't understand." Arnie replied. "That's the job you hired me to do. You told me you wanted me to take the circus' newest addition so you can negotiate with Mr. Haley for ransom and a future protection fee.

"You idiot." The Don muttered under his breath as shook his head in disbelief. "I was talking about their new elephant act, Zitka." He pointed to the elephant calf in a panoramic picture of the whole circus crew in the article.

"Oh. Uh, well… I-I didn't know." The man grew even more anxious.

"Let me make one thing clear, Arnie." Falcone declared. "In all my years building this business from the ground up, I have been very explicit about leaving children out of adult matters. I do this not only as a code of morality, but as a way to protect my own children."

"Yes, Don." The bandaged man agreed.

"Have you been drinking again, Arnie?" The boss asked.

Arnie looks down at the table, avoiding eye contact with his boss.

"Arnie…" Falcone probed.

"I may have had a few beers before I got your call about the job." He confessed.

"Of course you did." Falcone scoffed. "So, how did you manage to return the baby anyway?"

"Well, the thing is," The nervous man tried to stall. "I don't know exactly how the baby made it back to the circus. I guess I got lost on my way to the safe house the night I took

him and someone must have knocked me out and took him. That's how I got these." He gestured to the wounds on his face.

"Interesting." The Don replied. "Because some associates of mine claimed they saw you at the new Cash Cow Casino on Debauchery Row. Which, by the way, happens to be my casino; the night you were supposed to take the elephant. And they said you got kicked out for counting cards, but none of them mention you being bruised up beforehand. Want to try again?"

"Alright, alright." Arnie took a deep breath. "My memory's a little hazy from the concussion I got that night. But, I admit, when I was on my way to the safe house I saw the sign for the casino down the road. It's been awhile since I've got called for a job and was eager to enhance my recent income."

The insulted Don Falcone stared down the injured man.

"Well, the safe house was still a bit of a walk away and I know kids ain't allowed at casinos." Arnie reasoned. "So I tried to find a spot where no one would find him. I couldn't leave him out in the open in front of the casino, so I found a dumpster that was pretty much empty, in the alley behind the casino to keep him hidden until I was done. I was only planning on staying for maybe a half hour, but then I had a few drinks and lost track of time. Next thing I know, I'm talking to a cocktail waitress when the bouncer picks me up and throws me out the back door, where I must have I blacked out for a while."

Arnie rubbed his head as if trying to invoke more memories.

"When I came to," he added. "I heard sirens and instinctively ran in the opposite direction. I finally made it back to my apartment when I realized I forgot the baby in the dumpster. I went back to the dumpster, but the kid wasn't there. I thought maybe the people at the club found him. I figured whoever found him would hand him over to the police and they'd return him to his folks."

"Let me get this straight..." The Don countered. "When you dropped the ball on a job I paid you good money to do, which you screw up from the beginning; you relied on the kindness of strangers to fix up your mess?"

"I-I, uh. It's not.." Arnie replied, lost for words.

"When Carmine Falcone pays someone to do a job." The Don stated. "You better get the job done right. I have been planning this whole thing for over 3 months. I scheduled a business trip out of town when the circus was here to throw off suspicion. I had a dossier with all the details privately delivered to you express mail, which you obviously didn't read. I arranged for a moving truck to be waiting for you and the elephant up near the fairgrounds, which you never retrieved. And at your request, I even paid a deposit in advance to show good faith in your abilities. And you had the nerve to start pissing that money before you even got the job done?"

"Don Falcone, I am incredibly sorry." Arnie groveled. "I'll do anything to make up for it."

"Refunding my deposit would be a nice start." The Don demanded.

"I would give you every cent back if I could, sir." Arnie said. "But I must have spent all my money at the casino. When I got home, I only had $18 in my wallet. It's the truth, Boss."

The Don chuckled mockingly.

"Doesn't matter, I'll get my money back one way or another." The boss stated. "But you, Arnie; you're done here in Gotham. You have 24 hours to get out of this town. And if I ever see your face around here again, it will be the last time anyone sees your face."

Falcone snapped his fingers and the guard to his right grabbed the protesting Arnie and dragged him to the backhouse of the restaurant and threw him out near the dumpster as the restaurant patrons and staff actively ignored what was going on to avoid the repercussions of seeming too nosy about Falcone's business affairs.

"That's the problem with this business, Joe." The boss commented to his remaining guard. "There's no work ethic anymore. After a while people get lazy and sloppy with the work they actually do because everyone around here knows each other and thinks that guarantees job security. Everyone thinks they're irreplaceable."

After his second guard returned, Falcone and his associates left the table and headed for the front door. As they reached the door, a young man followed the group of older men.

"Excuse me, Mr. Falcone." The bus boy shyly spoke up. "You forgot your hat."

"It seems I have." The Don realized when he saw the boy carefully holding the hat as he reached for it. "Thanks...?"

"I'm Tony, sir." The bus boy answered "Tony Zucco."

"Well, Tony." The Don acknowledged as he put on his hat, "You must have decent parents to be such an honest kid."

"My parents died a long time ago, sir." Tony informed the Don.

"Sorry to hear that." The Don responded sincerely.

"It's okay, I was adopted a few years ago," Tony added. "But my adoptive mother ran off with another man and my adoptive father is in prison. But I never considered them my parents, anyway."

"That's rough, kid." The intrigued mob boss said before he reached an epiphany. "So how old are you, Tony?"

"I turn 18 next month." The bus boy answered.

"Well, if you ever get tired of bussing tables…" Falcone said as he handed the boy a business card. "Feel free to give me a call and maybe we can find a more lucrative career."

"Wow, thank you, Mr. Falcone." Tony thanked the man as he and his associates left the restaurant before returning to work.

"Carmine, you got to be joking." Joe said once the three men were outside.

"Are you really going to start hiring kids?" The other guard asked.

"Remember what I was talking about when Paul was taking care of Arnie?" The Don refreshed Joe's memory. "Everyone in this industry is getting careless and lazy thinking they can't be replaced. I say it's time we start looking to a new generation and give those lazy bums a run for their money."

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Well, that's all folks. Hope you liked it.**


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